2020 marks the fifth year in which the NFL has held its My Cause, My Cleats campaign. The premise is that players are allowed to raise awareness for their favorite charitable causes by having specially-designed cleats to commemorate those causes. The cleats are typically auctioned, with 100 percent of the auction proceeds going towards the dedicated cause. This year, the campaign is being held during Weeks 13 and 14, with the players wearing the cleats during their home games over that two-week span.
Alabama players are well represented in the campaign. Here’s a look at their specially-designed cleats, as well as the causes that they are supporting. We’ll update this post as new cleats are added.
[Disclaimer: we don’t expressly endorse any of the charities listed, but urge you to do your own research relative to the causes]
Jonathan Allen
Charitable Organization – Sasha Bruce Youthwork. Sasha Bruce is a provider of youth services and short-term shelters in the D.C. area. Allen shares why he chose the Sasha Bruce organization in this clip.
Amari Cooper
Charitable Organization – The Literacy Lab. Literacy Lab provides children from low-income families with individualized reading instruction to improve their literacy skills, leading to greater success in school and increased opportunities in life.
Raekwon Davis
Charitable Organization – Justice for Breonna. Cause is a call to action to demand justice for the death of Breonna Taylor, and for the implementation of police reforms.
Kenyan Drake
Charitable Organization – Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Drake has been an ardent supporter of Phoenix Children’s Hospital since being traded to Arizona last year. He’s also raising funds for the hospital based on the number of touchdowns he scores this season.
Minkah Fitzpatrick
Charitable Organization – Unshackled! Fitzpatrick founded Unshackled!, a faith-based organization, to provide resources and raise awareness for children and families in need. The cleats’ designs were done by a fan who entered Fitzpatrick’s “Design a Cleat for Minkah Fitzpatrick” contest. The other shoe (not pictured) bears the inscription “Warrior.”
Ronnie Harrison
Charitable Organization – National Urban League. The Urban League is a civil rights organization that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Americans and against racial discrimination.
Derrick Henry
Charitable Organization – Two All Foundation. Henry founded the Two All Foundation to level the playing field for today’s youth so that their future success is not limited by the circumstances of their upbringing, background, disability, or influence. Henry included a salute to his grandmother Gladys on the inseam of the shoe.
O.J. Howard
Charitable Organization – Got Da Juice 1K Foundation. Howard’s foundation was started in 2017 with the mission to empower youth through sports and education by providing programs and initiatives that help them achieve their goals.
Jalen Hurts
Charitable Organization – Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. ALSF is a Philadelphia-area charity that funds research, raises awareness, and supports families impacted by childhood cancers.
Eddie Jackson
Charitable Organization – Remain to Reach Foundation. Founded by Jackson in 2018, Remain to Reach provides resources to at-risk youth who have found themselves in trouble with the law at a young age.
Kareem Jackson
Charitable Organization – Kareem Jackson Foundation. Jackson’s foundation serves two ends: supporting families with seriously children with daily encouragement and life changing experiences, and supporting women who are battling and those who have achieved victory over breast cancer. The names on the cleats are Jackson’s mother, a breast cancer survivor, and his sister, a childhood leukemia survivor.
Anfernee Jennings
Charitable Organization – Campaign Zero. Campaign Zero is a social cause aimed at curbing incidents police brutality through specific solutions which combine accountability, improved community interactions, and limited interventions.
Jerry Jeudy
Charitable Organization – Trisomy 18 Foundation. Trisomy 18 Foundation provides resources to families who have a child born with the Trisomy 18 birth defect. Jeudy’s sister Aaliyah was born with Trisomy 18 and died at the age of seven.
Julio Jones
Charitable Organization – Black Lives Matter. BLM’s stated mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. Jones’ shoes are inscribed with the names of persons who died during police incidents.
Ryan Kelly
Charitable Organization – Concerns of Police Survivors. C.O.P.S. is a support organization for families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
Dre Kirkpatrick
Charitable Organization – 21 Kids Foundation. Kirkpatrick established his foundation in 2013 to serve disadvantaged youth by providing opportunities and resources through education and mentorship programs, and by encouraging healthier lifestyles.
AJ McCarron
Charitable Organization – USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital. Part of the University of South Alabama medical system, Children’s & Women’s Hospital specializes in pediatric and neo-natal care. The hospital has special meaning to McCarron, as it was where he was treated when survived a near-fatal jet ski accident as a young boy.
Daron Payne
Charitable Organization – Jimmie Hale Mission. Birmingham-based Jimmie Hale Mission provides education remediation, job readiness, spiritual support, and addiction recovery support to men afflicted with homelessness.
Ross Pierschbacher
Charitable Organization – American Diabetes Association. ADA funds research and provides educational support for persons with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Henry Ruggs
Charitable Organization – Roderic D. Scott Foundation. Rod Scott was Ruggs’ close friend and basketball teammate who was tragically killed in an auto accident in 2016. The foundation, started by Scott’s parents, sponsors scholarships, college entrance exam preparation study sessions, basketball camps, and family and community events.
Cam Sims
Charitable Organization – Community Justice Exchange. CJE is a network dedicated to developing, sharing, and experimenting with tactical interventions, strategic organizing practices, and innovative organizing tools to end mass incarceration.
Irv Smith Jr.
Charitable Organization – GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer. The foundation provides support to lung cancer patients and families by increasing public / private research funding and ensuring access to care.
Tua Tagovailoa
Charitable Organization – Tua Foundation. Tagovailoa’s foundation was set up to fund scholarships to fund high school scholarships.
Dalvin Tomlinson
Charitable Organization – Kate’s Club. Kate’s Club, an Atlanta-based charity, empowers children and young adults who are grieving the loss of a parent or sibling with activities to help in the grieving process.
Levi Wallace
Charitable Organization – The ALS Association. Wallace supports the ALS Assocation and its primary fund-raiser, the Walk to Defeat ALS, as a tribute to his father, who died from the disease.
Mack Wilson
Charitable Organization – Kulture City. Kulture City serves the sensory needs of those with invisible disabilities, such as autism, PTSD, dementia, strokes. Kulture City happens to provide the sensory bags that are available at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Wilson explains why he picked Kulture City in this tweet.
Other players included on the NFL’s participation list (some of these appear to be holdovers from last year’s list) that are not pictured above include:
- Anthony Averett – March of Dimes
- Bradley Bozeman – Bradley and Nikki Bozeman Foundation
- Shyheim Carter – Pat Tillman Foundation
- Hale Hentges – Special Olympics of Missouri
- Mark Ingram – Mark Ingram Foundation
- Calvin Ridley – Unstoppable Foundation
- Cam Robinson – Alliance for Safety and Justice
- Damion Square – Hip 2B Square
- Jonah Williams – Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
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