The NFL is investigating whether San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa violated league policy by interrupting his teammates postgame interview to showcase a MAGA hat, a clear endorsement of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, after last week’s victory over the Dallas Cowboys, according to reports by Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports and Mark Maske of The Washington Post. Jones was the first to report the league was looking into the matter. Both reporters specified that the league is not considering a suspension, but could levy a fine against Bosa for violating league rules.
While it would be easy to spin this investigation into some form of politically targeted punishment for Bosa’s support of Trump, this is more tied to the NFL’s strict policing of player’s sharing any affiliated brand messaging that is not first approved by them. As Maske noted in his report, players are “prohibited from wearing, displaying, or otherwise conveying personal messages either in writing or illustration, unless such message has been approved in advance by the League office.”
Jones noted that the timeline for any punishment will likely not come until after the election on November 5th. Whether intentional or not, the league does probably have an incentive to avoid hitting Bosa with any punishment until after the election to avoid pushback from Trump and his supporters.
Bosa faced plenty of criticism for his public display of support. However, his refusal to give any explanation or justification for his action during his postgame press conference has led to the most direct non-partisan criticism. Even though Bosa did not say anything about the matter, it still seems like his pocket books could take a small hit for his antics.
