Syracuse Orange: NCAA letting players wear patches for social justice
By Neil Adler
Syracuse Orange players and others around the country are able to wear patches on their uniforms to support social justice issues.
The NCAA, often criticized for doing the wrong thing, has thankfully approved measures that will enable Syracuse Orange student-athletes and their peers across the United States to express their support of social justice on their uniforms.
According to an article from NCAA Associate Director of Communications Greg Johnson, the NCAA’s playing rules oversight panel has approved rules that allow players in all sports “to wear patches on their uniforms for commemorative and memorial purposes, as well as to support social justice issues.”
Per Johnson, existing NCAA rules in some collegiate sports do not allow patches, while rules for several other sports don’t address the topic.
Given the country’s current climate, the only proper and fair move that the NCAA could have made here is to allow all student-athletes to express themselves and support social justice on their uniforms.
The NCAA will enable Syracuse Orange players to support social justice through the wearing of patches on their uniforms.
Members of this NCAA panel, who recently met virtually via videoconference, reaffirmed and also expanded existing rules so that there are two places on players’ uniforms, on the front and on the back, where they can voice their opinions.
The patch on the uniform’s front, already allowed in most NCAA sports, as authorized by a specific school or conference, “may be a commemorative/memorial patch (names, mascots, nicknames, logos and marks) intended to celebrate or memorialize people, events or other causes.”
This patch, not to exceed 2¼ square inches in size, must go on the uniform’s front or sleeve. All participants on a team are not obligated to wear the patch, but those who do must wear an identical one.
"The patch on the back of the uniform, where a student-athlete’s name is usually located “and, as authorized by the school or conference, will allow names/words intended to celebrate or memorialize people, events or other causes. The names or words may vary by team member.”"