Tag: Patches

NCAA allows all athletes to wear patches supporting social justice, memorializing people

The NCAA has voted to allow athletes to wear patches supporting social justice and in memory of people.

(This post was originally published on USA TODAY Sports.)

The NCAA announced Thursday that players in all sports would be able to wear patches on their uniforms beginning in 2020.

These patches could be to support social justice causes or to memorialize a person or event. Patches were already allowed in some sports — for instance, all college football teams wore a patch commemorating the 150th anniversary of the sport in 2019 — but the rules expanded to allow patches both on the front and back of uniforms and to allow patches in sports where they were not previously permitted.

MORE: Harvey Updyke’s legacy is exactly opposite of what he wished

Patches on the front or sleeve must be no bigger than 2 1/4 square inches. Patches on the back can be placed where the name traditionally goes and can contain names or words. Such patches must be approved by the school or conference.

Many professional sports leagues, such as the NBA and WNBA, have already started allowing athletes to wear social justice messages on their jerseys. NBA players were required to choose from a preapproved list of social justice messages, while the WNBA decided it would specifically focus its messages around Breonna Taylor.

While the NCAA’s new rules allow teams to choose their own messages, any patches on the front or sleeve must be identical for all athletes who elect to wear them, and messages on the back must be approved by the school or conference.

Watch: Dolphin launches like a rocket near whale watchers

Whale watchers off California received an unexpected dolphin show when one from a pod launched high into the sky right next to the boat.

Whale watchers aboard a boat off Southern California received an unexpected dolphin show Wednesday when one from a pod of 60 launched like a rocket right next to the boat.

[protected-iframe id=”c0f76f6d2777f928fda6476316ecce7e-58289342-9134387″ info=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fnewportcoastaladventure%2Fvideos%2F574505186473941%2F&show_text=0&width=380″ width=”380″ height=”476″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border: none; overflow: hidden;” scrolling=”no”]

If not for passenger Joni Kilgore recording video at the time, the amazing height the dolphin reached would have been but a memory. Instead, she shared it with Newport Coastal Adventure, the whale-watching company out of Newport Beach which led the trip.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Watch an ice fisherman pull a 50-pound fish through a tiny hole

“The excited bottlenose dolphin jumped at least 20 feet in the air right next to our boat,” Jessica Roame told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors, adding that the dolphin “rocketed out of the water for fun, delighting our whale-watching passengers.”

Obvious from the video, the reaction of the whale watchers was delight and amazement.

“Bottlenose dolphin are among the most intelligent animals in the ocean, and to witness them behaving in this way is both wondrous and incredible,” Roame said.

The whale watchers also were treated to the sighting of a dolphin known as Patches; the photo below explains the nickname.

“His sighting is significant in Orange County because he is a very recognizable bottlenose dolphin with pink colored ‘patches’ all over his body,” Roame told For The Win Outdoors.

“These pink ‘patches’ are caused by a genetic abnormality called leucism, which gives it an unmistakable color pattern. He usually travels with a large group of conspecifics and has been reported all over the Southern California Bight, from the Mexican Border to the Santa Barbara Channel.

“The skin underneath appears pink because of the blood vessels of the animal showing through their non-pigmented skin.

“These marine mammals can be between 6-12-feet long and weigh close to 1,400 pounds when they’re fully grown, so it was a thrilling sight for all our passengers to witness.”

Highlighted, of course, by the high-flying dolphin.

Photos by Joni Kilgore and Delaney Trowbridge, who captured the closeup photo of the dolphin returning to the water.

Follow David Strege and the outdoors on Facebook.

Saints add commemorative Super Bowl patches to jerseys for MNF

The New Orleans Saints will wear jersey patches commemorating their Super Bowl XLIV victory during their game with the Indianapolis Colts.

[jwplayer 0J0MKOFE-ThvAeFxT]

There’s no better occasion for the New Orleans Saints to remember the tenth anniversary of their victory in Super Bowl XLIV than their next matchup against the team they beat in that title game, so they’ll be adding memorial patches to their jerseys for this week’s “Monday Night Football” kickoff with the Indianapolis Colts. The first look at these patches came from Saints punter Thomas Morstead, in a series of photos he shared from his official Twitter account.

The Saints have implemented memorial patches on their jerseys before, including tributes to late owner Tom Benson in 2018 and celebrations of the team’s fiftieth season in 2016. They’ve also worn helmet decals in memory of former teammates like defensive end Will Smith, who was murdered in 2016. They don’t often modify their uniforms, but the Saints do take care to recognize special people and occasions.

In addition to this unique jersey patch, the Saints will be recognizing the Super Bowl XLIV-winning team during halftime of Monday night’s game, with many former players, coaches, and support staff in attendance. It’s shaping up for a festive atmosphere full of memories of the 2009 team that went all the way. Here’s hoping some of that energy fuels the current Saints squad as they push towards the playoffs and a chance at bringing home another Super Bowl title.

[lawrence-related id=24513]

[vertical-gallery id=24577]