Customized facemasks are no longer welcome in the NFL, unless a player has a medical reason for wearing one.
Colts defensive end Robert Mathis had been wearing a new cage during training camp; the league found out and informed him it was prohibited. Other players who have rocked customized facemasks—most notably, Justin Tuck's badass cage that looks like it belongs on a movie villain's face—will also be banned.
This decision is bullshit, though. Wouldn't Tuck's neck injury history allow him to take advantage of the "medical reason" exception? Why would the league halt these modifications? If anything, it should be recommended. Those masks have a legitimate purpose: discouraging offensive players from resorting to wrenching someone's helmet around to compensate for their poor blocking off of the snap. If an attempt to prevent neck injuries doesn't fall under a medical reason, what does?
Photo: Darron Cummings/AP