Amidst a sea of pink shoes, pink towels, pink flags, pink hats and pink wristbands, Brandon Marshall won’t be allowed to wear the green shoes he hoped could bring attention to another worthy cause.

The Chicago Bears wide receiver wanted to wear the green cleats for Thursday night’s game in order to promote Mental Illness Awareness Week. Marshall, who was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in 2011, said on Tuesday he’d wear the shoes and then match the inevitable NFL fine with a donation to charity. But the NFL stepped in and informed Marshall he wouldn’t be permitted to take the field wearing his illicit kicks.

While it’s tempting to call the NFL for hypocrisy — “why is breast cancer more important than mental health?!” — that’s not the proper reaction. There are hundreds of worthy causes that players could promote on the field. The league needs to have rules in order to prevent players from looking like well-intentioned NASCAR drivers. It seems callous and uncaring, but it’s a reasonable reaction.

That being said, Marshall still accomplished his goal of raising awareness of mental illness. By making news on Tuesday with his green-shoed intentions, then being rebuffed on Wednesday, he’s earned publicity for Mental Health Week (visit the website), maybe even more than he’d have by wearing the shoes in the game. It’s not like anyone is going to sit through Thursday’s game against the woeful Giants anyway, right?