Clearly, NFL Players Need a Sleeve Mandate

When the San Francisco 49ers faced the Packers at Green Bay on Sunday, players had different ways of dealing with the cold. It was about 5 degrees at the beginning of the game, with the wind chill dipping to 15 below by the end. Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick opted to go sleeveless and to keep his throwing hand gloveless.

“I’ve played in cold-weather games before,” said Kaepernick, who went to the University of Nevada-Reno. “I feel like it’s more mental than anything.”

Tackle Joe Staley joked, “He has those tattoos he needs to show off,” referring to the Biblical tattoos on the QB that include Psalm 18:39.

Coach Jim Harbaugh said he suggested Kaepernick wear sleeves, but “I’m a little hardheaded at times,” the QB acknowledged.

What Kaepernick seemed to want to convey was that with all the predictions that the team from the Bay Area would be felled by the shivers in Green Bay, he was tougher than that. It’s not just an issue of getting psyched up to play in the cold, but psyching out your opponent.

Well, that’s just clearly unacceptable machismo, right? What about the health and safety implications of our poor vulnerable football players?? Says…