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49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick fined $10,000 for wearing Beats headphones to press conference

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Image via <a href="https://twitter.com/PGutierrezESPN/status/518919857832599553" target="_blank">Paul Gutierrez </a>

SF 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been fined $10,000 by the NFL for wearing a pair of pink Beats by Dre headphones (presumably for Breast Cancer Awareness Month) during a post-game press conference on Sunday. The National Football League recently signed an agreement with Bose that barred players and staff from wearing any other brand of headphones while on camera.

Kaepernick has an endorsement deal with Beats which comes into conflict with that agreement. The player declined to state whether the Apple-owned brand was picking up the tab for this infraction (and potentially others in the future).

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Comments

  1. rettun1 - 9 years ago

    Who gets the money?

  2. Forbidding the players to appear in public with other than approved headphone brand?
    How Orwellian!!!

  3. Manideep Gunnam - 9 years ago

    When did we lose the fundamental right to do what we want to wear. It’s against the free will.

  4. iSRS - 9 years ago

    This is a bit dumb. The NFL is turning into the Galactic Empire. As Leia told Tarken, the more you tighten your grip, the more systems will slip through your fingers.

    I get that Bose paid for being the official speakers of the NFL, but you can’t contril, what? About 1,700 players, when it comes to things that are illegal, much less what headphones they wear.

    • Neil Kiser (@neilkiser) - 9 years ago

      I’m not discounting the lunacy here – but the problem is not that he wears/uses Beats headphones – it’s that he did so at an NFL function (in other words, he was on the job, told what to wear/not wear – and he violated those rules – in my place of employment that’s a fire-able offense. If he was told not do to so in advance, and he did so anyway – they he pays the fine (or apple/beats does).

  5. Tommy C (@DJFriar) - 9 years ago

    This does being up an interesting question though, how does an endorsement deal work when there are essentially two deals in conflict? Knowing how controlling the NFL is, I highly doubt they were out of the loop when Kaepernick signed the deal with Beats.

  6. Graham J - 9 years ago

    That sport is just dropping work greed, it’s disgusting.

  7. P J Lenny (@aon415) - 9 years ago

    Apple/Beats will be happy to reimburse.

  8. Nice fake glasses…