On Sunday, Steelers wide receiver George Pickens made headlines for wearing eye black with the slogan “Open Fu**king Always.” There was some drama around it because conveying that message is against NFL 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.”
Of course, then, media members asked Pickens if he knew this rule. “George, were you aware of the rule about messaging on the eye black?” asked one reporter.
“Uhhhh… never seen it before, have you seen it before?” Pickens quickly responded back. The reporter mentioned hearing about it years ago, to which George shot back with, ” Years ago? When I wasn’t in the league? So nah.”
A different reporter asked about Pickens throwing his helmet on the field after not converting a third down. “Uh nah, you know when it’s third down and you don’t convert? A lot of fans are mad as well.”
The interaction has a lot of fans with mixed opinions.
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“He’s right, these are dumb questions phrased in a leading manner meant to obtain a specific answer for a narrative,” said one comment.
“There were red flags about his attitude coming out of college according to most scouting reports. Looks like they were accurate,” said another.
“Dumb question but he still needs to grow up. The iso-videos of him Sunday night loitering at WR are embarrassing,” continued a third.
George Picken’s Character Was A Question Coming Out Of College
This isn’t the first time some have speculated that Pickens needs to work on his attitude.
“On tape, he is probably a top-5 wide receiver but there’s just so many red flags, and they’re big red flags,” said a coach in an article written by Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. “He’s got a lot of growing up to do. If he goes to the right place with a room full of veterans that help him go the right way, I think he’ll have a chance.”
