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‘My Cause My Cleats’: The top 24 Week 13 customs — and why players wore them

Reppin’ everything from the American Cancer Society to the Trayvon Martin Foundation to Kaepernick

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    Anthony Walker
    Indianapolis Colts linebacker Anthony Walker wears his My Cause My Cleats shoes AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack
    Aaron Dodson By @aardodson

    Week 13 in the National Football League, at least since last season, is all about creativity, customization and cause. Through the “My Cause My Cleats” campaign, which the league started in 2016, players can bend uniform guidelines and wear cleats designed to represent a cause of their choice.

    Typically, players are only allowed to wear custom-painted kicks during pregame warm-ups. Then switch to uniform footwear while the game clock is rolling. But in Week 13, flashy cleats in vibrant colors, featuring unique illustrations and messages, are the norm. Athletes all across the NFL, from every position group, commission the hottest designers in the sneaker game to create the perfect pair of cleats for their cause. This year, around 1,000 players reportedly took part in the initiative, and after games ended, select cleats were sold at auction, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting causes such as the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, Colin Kaepernick’s #KnowYourRightsCamp, Habitat for Humanity, autism, POW and MIA families, anti-bullying, social justice and criminal justice reform, the Trayvon Martin Foundation and more.

    “This weekend, you’ll really see the impact art has had on the NFL,” Los Angeles artist Troy Cole, aka Kickasso, tweeted before Sunday’s games. Last season, he designed every pair of New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s anticipated pregame cleats. “Art is a powerful way to tell a story #MyCauseMyCleats.”

    Here are The Undefeated’s top 24 “My Cause My Cleats” customs, along with the players who wore them, the causes they supported and the artistic geniuses who brought charitable creativity to life.

    Chidobe Awuzie, Cornerback, Dallas Cowboys

    Cause: #BringBackOurGirls campaign

    Joe Barksdale, Offensive Tackle, Los Angeles Chargers

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BcIe-njB2X5/?taken-by=jbdale72

    Cause: Fender Music Foundation

    Designer: DeJesus Custom Footwear Inc.

    Michael Bennett, Defensive End, Seattle Seahawks

    Cause: National League of POW/MIA Families

    A.J. Bouye, Cornerback, Jacksonville Jaguars

    Cause: American Cancer Society

    Designer: Kickasso

    Antonio Brown, Wide Receiver, Pittsburgh Steelers

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BcNCF9RAr5R/?taken-by=ab

    Cause: RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)

    Designer: Corey Pane

    Kurt Coleman, Safety, Carolina Panthers

    Cause: Levine Children’s Hospital

    Designer: Ryan Bare, SR Customs

    Mike Daniels, defensive end, Green Bay Packers

    Cause: Anti-bullying

    Designer: SolesBySir

    Stefon Diggs, Wide Receiver, Minnesota Vikings

    Cause: American Heart Association

    Designer: Mache Customs

    DeSean Jackson, Wide Receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    Cause: Brotherhood Crusade

    Designer: SolesBySir

    Malcolm Jenkins, Safety, Philadelphia Eagles

    Cause: Social Justice and Criminal Justice Reform, Players Coalition

    Designer: Sixth-grade class at Jubilee School, Illustrative Cre8ions

    Eddie Lacy, Running Back, Seattle Seahawks

    Cause: International Relief Teams, Hurricane Katrina

    Designer: Bizon Customs

    Jarvis Landry, Wide Receiver, Miami Dolphins

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BcGN9PIl6OI/?taken-by=juice_landry

    Cause: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

    Marshon Lattimore, Cornerback, New Orleans Saints

    Cause: Social injustices and honoring close friend Dayton Williams, who was shot and killed in 2010 in Euclid, Ohio.

    Rishard Matthews, Wide Receiver, Tennessee Titans

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BcFmgBGlBVO/?taken-by=rishardmatthews

    Cause: Colin Kaepernick, Know Your Rights Camp

    Designer: SolesBySir

    Gerald McCoy, Defensive Tackle, Tampa Bay buccaneers

    Cause: “The Life of a Single Mom”

    Designer: The Hulfish Project

    Eric Reid, Safety, San Francisco 49ers

    Cause: Colin Kaepernick, Know Your Rights Camp

    Designer: Tragik MCMXCIII

    A’shawn Robinson, Defensive Tackle, Detroit Lions

    https://twitter.com/AshawnRobinson/status/936761938515722246

    Cause: Leukemia patients

    Jaylon Smith, Linebacker, Dallas Cowboys

    Cause: Autism

    Designer: The Hulfish Project

    Torrey Smith, Wide Receiver, Philadelphia Eagles

    Cause: Torrey Smith Family Fund, Show Your Soft Side, Players Coalition, NO More Campaign

    Designer: Kreative Custom Kicks, Dez Customz

    Shane Vereen, Running Back, New York Giants

    Cause: Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles

    Designer: Kickasso

    Anthony Walker, Linebacker, Indianapolis Colts

    Cause: Trayvon Martin Foundation

    Designer: Desmond J. Jones, Art is Dope

    Deshaun Watson, Quarterback, Houston Texans

    Cause: Habitat for Humanity

    Designer: 5-year-old twins Kayla and Jakwan; Evan Melnyk, Nike

    Russell Wilson, Quarterback, Seattle Seahawks

    Cause: Why Not You Foundation

    Designer: Kate Neckel and Dash Tsai

     

    Daryl Worley, Cornerback, Carolina Panthers

    Cause: CeaseFirePA

    Designer: SR Customs

    Aaron Dodson is a sports and culture writer at Andscape. He primarily writes on sneakers/apparel and hosts the platform’s Sneaker Box video series. During Michael Jordan’s two seasons playing for the Washington Wizards in the early 2000s, the “Flint” Air Jordan 9s sparked his passion for kicks.

    This Story Tagged: NFL Sneaker Stories My Cause My Cleats