NCAA to allow players to support causes with uniform patches

Author: The Associated Press
Published: Updated:
FILE - In this April 19, 2019, file photo, an athlete stands near a NCAA logo during a softball game in Beaumont, Texas. The NCAA is poised to take a significant step toward allowing college athletes to earn money without violating amateurism rules. The Board of Governors will be briefed Tuesday, Oct. 29 by administrators who have been examining whether it would be feasible to allow college athletes to profit of their names, images and likenesses. A California law set to take effect in 2023 would make it illegal for NCAA schools in the state to prevent athletes from signing personal endorsement deals. (AP Photo/Aaron M. Sprecher, File)
FILE – In this April 19, 2019, file photo, an athlete stands near a NCAA logo during a softball game in Beaumont, Texas. The NCAA announced Thursday that college athletes in all sports will be permitted to wear patches on their uniforms to support social justice issues. (AP Photo/Aaron M. Sprecher, File)

The NCAA announced Thursday that college athletes in all sports will be permitted to wear patches on their uniforms to support social justice issues.

The NCAA’s playing rules oversight panel adjusted rules in some sports that do not allow patches to be worn. In some sports, patches on uniforms are not addressed in playing rules.

The NCAA says patches can be worn on either the front or back of the uniform to “express support and voice their opinions.”

The patch on the front must not exceed 2¼ square inches and must be placed on the front or sleeve of the uniform. Not all team members are required to wear a patch, but team members must wear identical patches.

The NCAA says players will also be permitted to replace the nameplates on the backs of uniforms with “names/words intended to celebrate or memorialize people, events or other causes.”

The NBA is permitting its players to replace the names on the backs of the jerseys with phrases and words intended to support social and racial justice causes.

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