After posting last night’s item regarding the NFL Players Association telling the NFL, the Cardinals, and Fanatics that Marvin Harrison Jr. jerseys cannot be sold, someone posted a response regarding the inability to customize Arizona jerseys bearing Harrison’s name and number.
So we tried it out. And, indeed, “Harrison” (for Cardinals jersey) falls into the NFL’s equivalent of the seven words you can’t say on television.
For the NFL, there’s more than seven. A lot more. (Trust me, we tried.) Even words that used to be frowned upon that are now common on TV (Hell and Fart and Ass and even Assman, for instance) are forbidden.
We also tried to customize jerseys for a handful of notorious NFL figures. Rae Carruth? No. Aaron Hernandez (Patriots 81), O.J. Simpson (Bills 32), and Darren Sharper (Saints 42)? Yes.
It’s stunning but not surprising. It would be an easy workaround for anyone who wants a Harrison jersey. At the same time, what if there’s a Cardinals fan whose last name is Harrison?
Actually, that fan can customize a Cardinals jersey, as long as the number isn’t 18 or 88. (Or 82, for some reason.)
So here’s a hack. Buy a jersey with an 8, and then put a strip of white tape next to the number.
Before they inevitably add “8" to the list of more-than-seven dirty words.