Jason Wolf

jwolf@tennessean.com

Titans coach Mike Mularkey was not only supportive of Avery Williamson's decision to violate the NFL's uniform code by wearing custom patriotic shoes during the team's home opener against the Vikings on Sunday, the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, as the linebacker said after the game.

He pretty much directed him to do so. And he'll handle any fine from the league.

"Well, I said, 'I'm going to shoot you straight like I shoot everybody straight. If you don't wear those shoes, I'll be very disappointed in you. Because all I want from you guys is to do things the right way,' " Mularkey said Monday. "And him wearing those shoes is doing something the right way.

"If he gets a fine, I'm going to take care of that."

RELATED

Williamson originally planned to wear the star-spangled blue cleats with red- and white-striped Nike swooshes to honor those who died, but in an effort to avoid becoming a distraction, changed his mind when an NFL representative called to inform him about a looming fine for violating uniform code.

He changed his mind once again Saturday night after The Tennessean's report about the situation went viral. Several of his teammates offered to help pay the fine if he wore the cleats, as did four New York and New Jersey police associations, including the union that represents the police department that patrols the World Trade Center complex.

“I just felt like I got so much support across the country, and especially when the New York and New Jersey police unions said that they would pay my fine, that really meant a lot," Williamson said after the game. "So I felt like if I didn’t wear them, I just wouldn’t have felt good about it. I felt like I had to do that, just for myself and to represent the people that were lost and the people that do their jobs every day to protect us. I feel like it was just a duty.”

Titans general manager Jon Robinson patted Williamson on the chest during team warmups, when the linebacker was wearing plain white cleats, like his teammates.

Williamson said he wore the plain cleats to avoid NFL representatives approaching him before the game, and that Robinson and Mularkey were supportive of his decision.

"I just didn’t want it to be a distraction, and they were fine with it," Williamson said, "so I went ahead and did it."

Titans teammates also spoke out in support of Williamson on Monday.

"I loved them," Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jurrell Casey said. "I thought it was something neat and something that he cared for, and he had all the support from everybody to go out there and wear them. I think that it really showed what 9/11 was about."

"It was awesome," veteran cornerback Jason McCourty said. "I saw the shoes that he was wearing, and I know him and a bunch of other guys (around the NFL) had really cool cleats showing kind of respect. I know my brother (Patriots safety Devin McCourty) had some socks with the American flag on them, so I think anything that paid homage like that was just a really cool gesture. ... Obviously, he can afford his own fine. But I think it was really cool for those police departments to show support and just show that they’re along with him."

In addition to the patriotic color scheme, Williamson’s cleats, airbrushed by True Blue Customs in Lexington, Ky., featured the words “Never Forget” and “9/11” on the back of the shoes, with the "11" representing the Twin Towers. The NFL mandates all teammates wear the same color scheme on their shoes.

Williamson is auctioning the cleats to benefit Operation Warrior Wishes, plus offering a meet and greet, two VIP tickets to a Titans home game and an autographed jersey.

“I’m going to try to get a couple of veterans to come to a game,” Williamson told The Tennessean on Friday. “I feel like just reaching out to people, helping them, somebody that’s served our country, I feel like that’s a great honor, so I wanted to do something nice for them. I feel like it’s a great cause.”

Reach Jason Wolf at jwolf@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter at @JasonWolf and on Instagram and Snapchat at TitansBeat.