Steelers' George Pickens Is Now Officially Being Investigated By The NFL

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a lot of trouble dealing with their top receiver, George Pickens. He has drawn the ire of fans and the media after showing a lack of effort yet again and being benched for it, even if Mike Tomlin tries to use the "load management" excuse. In a year where Pickens was expected to mature and help lead this young receiving core, he has just continued to be a distraction. This time, however, the NFL is looking into his antics. This investigation goes beyond the sulking during play or even the dirty move after the game. 

During the game against the Dallas Cowboys, it was revealed that Pickens' Eye Black paint had a message with a swear on it. It read "Open F**king Always," with the expletive covering his nose. The message that he was trying to send with that is straightforward, as he believes that he is always a good option to throw to, whether he is tightly covered or not. He wants to be the top dog and show off his abilities as much as possible.

The NFL, however, was not amused by it. They have a strict policy about personal messages as a whole, as they have to accept it before it is displayed for any player. They most likely would not accept Pickens' message, primarily because of the curse word. They have launched an investigation into the situation, as Brooke Pryor reports.

"The NFL is reviewing the explicit message worn on the Eye Black [paint] of Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens during Sunday night's loss to the Dallas Cowboys for a potential fine over violation of the league's uniform policy, according to a league source... According to league rules, Rule 5, Section 4, Article 8 states that players are prohibited from 'wearing, displaying or otherwise conveying personal messages either in writing or illustration, unless such message has been approved in advance by the League office.'"

There is no word on if Pickens tried to get the message approved, with or without the swear in the middle of it. He may be able to submit just "Open Always" for review to try and wear that on game day, but the NFL most likely would not allow that middle word to stay in. Unfortunately, the Steelers are more than used to getting fined for uniform violations, and the others were much more innocent than Pickens' Eye Black paint. 

Steelers Players Got Fined For Honorable Uniform Decisions

Cameron Heyward made headlines many years ago for getting hit with a fine for honoring his late father, Craig Heyward, as his nickname was on Cameron's Eye Black. Instead of letting it slide and allowing him to pay homage to his dad, the NFL decided that they had to step in and make it a problem, which drew the ire of fans across the league. Sure, Pickens' message could be a minor issue, but how is "Iron Head" a bad thing to have?

DeAngelo Williams and William Gay have been dinged repeatedly for using their uniform to support causes that they heavily believe in. One of the things they did was borrow cleats from the Minnesota Vikings, as the purple represented domestic violence awareness. Gay called for the NFL to find a way to allow players to support their causes and charities on their uniform. A couple years later, they did. 

The NFL launched their "My Cause, My Cleats" initiative shortly after Gay pleaded for a change like that. It has become a tradition now, and players will wear custom-designed cleats with their charity or cause of choice on them. While it's usually only allowed for two weeks, there was at least a compromise to get players to represent what is important to them, like Gay and Williams.

What do you think about Pickens being investigated for his Eye Black, as well as other Steelers' uniform violations? Let us know in the comments.

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