About an hour before kickoff of a Los Angeles Rams game five years ago, Mike Karney braced for an uncomfortable conversation. It was Karney’s job to warn a Rams defensive back that the NFL didn’t approve of the trendy Kanye West-designed cleats the defender was wearing.
“You need to take those off,” Karney gently told the player, gesturing at the pair of newly released Yeezys on his feet. The NFL at the time banned players from wearing the cleats because their marled colorways and dual-colored laces violated the league’s dress code.
When the Rams player insisted that he didn’t care how much money the NFL fined him, Karney told him that he didn’t understand the ramifications.