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Steelers CB William Gay fined by NFL for wearing purple cleats for domestic violence

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been giving a lot of money back to the NFL in recent weeks through fines. William Gay was the latest to lose money due to a "uniform violation".

Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Steelers have recently been the target of numerous uniform violations by the NFL. Whether it was Cameron Heyward's fine for him putting "Iron Head" on his eye black or Stephon Tuitt's fine for his undershirt being un-tucked during a game, the Steelers have sent a good portion of their weekly game checks back to the NFL league office.

Turns out, there is a new Steelers player to be fined by the league, and it is CB William Gay.

According to multiple sources, the league fined Gay the standard $5,787 for wearing purple cleats to bring attention to domestic violence. As was reported by Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Gay had worn the same colored cleats the past two Octobers, and was never fined...until now.

Gay's story has become very public as the NFL, post-Ray Rice, has looked to heal an injured stigma on the former policy on domestic violence and how weak the former standard was, which was set forth by the commissioner and the punishments given to someone who violated the policy.

The league is clearly taking a hard stance on their uniform policy and players doing what they want in terms of supporting their own cause, or in other words, the NFL wants the players to only support a cause which is supported by the NFL. Needless to say, the NFL isn't making any friends from fans and media for such a strict and stringent policy which seemingly fines players who are trying to draw attention not to themselves, but to worthy causes which aren't labeled "approved" by the NFL.