Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown has filed a grievance against the NFL to be allowed to wear the helmet he prefers, not the one the league mandates, league sources told ESPN on Friday.
Brown is expected to have a hearing that will occur as early as next week, and an arbitrator will decide whether or not he gets to wear the helmet he wants.
New NFL rules being enforced this season say he can’t. The helmet that Brown is comfortable in and has worn throughout his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers is no longer certified by NOCSAE — the National Operating Committee for Standards and Athletic Equipment.
The NFL has a policy of not allowing players to wear helmets that are not certified by NOCSAE. NOCSAE’s rule has been that no helmets older than 10 years can be worn.
Brown is expected to have a hearing as early as next week, and the arbitrator will decide whether or not he gets to wear the helmet he wants. New NFL rules in effect this season say he can’t.
It’s the latest complication in what has become a complicated summer for Brown, from his head to his feet. He suffered extreme frostbite on his feet as a result of not wearing appropriate footwear when he entered a cryotherapy chamber last month in France, a source told ESPN.
The foot injury has limited his practice time this summer, and he has not been in camp recently as he meets with specialists. Other league sources, however, have wondered how much his absence stems from the helmet issue, which has been an ongoing battle since the start of training camp.
The NFL and NFLPA want players to wear helmets designed in the most effective manner to safeguard against potential head injuries.
The Raiders are “aware and supportive of Antonio Brown, but [have] no further comment.”
During the offseason, the NFL and NFLPA added 11 helmets to their joint list of approved equipment for this season while eliminating a grace period for other models that have fallen short in laboratory testing. By the end of last season, the NFL said 32 players were wearing helmets that now are banned. Brown was one, and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady — who has openly complained about the rule — was the other.
Though the league and NFLPA has tested helmets since 2018, last year was the first time it banned certain models. This season, the league is enforcing the rule and trying to make no exceptions, even saying that any player wearing a banned helmet will be subject to discipline.