Students at a Louisiana school rallied to support Davis, who was fined more than $7,000 by the NFL for wearing a "Man of God" headband Sept. 22 against the Seattle Seahawks.
Children at St. Louis King of France Catholic School in Metairie responded with their own headbands, with the slogan "Child of God" written on them, WLTX reported.
Davis won his appeal and the NFL rescinded the $7,017 fine, ESPN reported. Davis is donating that money, along with more than $30,000 he has raised with sales of "Man of God," "Woman of God" and "Child of God" headbands, to St. Dominic Memorial Hospital in his home state of Mississippi, according to WDSU.
‼️‼️‼️We’ve raised $30,000 from headbands AND I won my appeal! Always glory above so I’m donating that original $7,017 to @stdomhospital still. Ya’ll helped me turn a $7,000 negative into a $40,000 positive & got this school to support! Let’s go! #ManOfGodhttps://t.co/tUndNVQSk1 pic.twitter.com/gdph6GZUpE
— Demario Davis #56 (@demario__davis) October 8, 2019
A spokesman for St. Louis King of France Catholic School said the event was planned to "show our community that we, just like Demario Davis, are proud and happy to mark ourselves as a 'Man/Woman/Child of God' and support our New Orleans Saints," WLTX reported.
The NFL considers personal messages on uniforms a violation, subject to fines, The Times-Picayune of New Orleans reported. The minimum fine is $7,017, and a second offense would cost a player or coach $14,037, the newspaper reported.
"Ya'll helped me turn a $7,000 negative into a $40,000 positive & got this school to support! Let's go!" Davis wrote on Twitter.
One of the more famous instances of a player being fined for a headband message occurred in January 1986, when Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon was hit with a $5,000 fine for wearing an Adidas headband. McMahon took a humorous swipe at then-NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle the following week during the NFC Championship Game, wearing a headband that had "Rozelle" written on it.
In 2015, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward was fined more than $25,000 in 2015 for multiple eye black messages honoring his late father, the Times-Picayune reported. The following year, Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams was fined $5,787 for writing "Find the Cure" on his eye black, the newspaper reported.
In 2004, quarterback Jake Plummer was fined for wearing a helmet decal honoring the late Pat Tillman for an extra week, but that fine was rescinded, the Times-Picayune reported.
Davis resurrected the "Who Dat" chant made famous by quarterback Drew Brees when the Saints went on to win the Super Bowl during the 2009 season.
About the Author