New Orleans Saints outside linebacker Demario Davis (56) has yet to miss a game during his eight-year NFL career. File Photo by Mark Wallheiser/UPI |
License Photo
Oct. 9 (UPI) -- New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis turned the original $7,017 fine he received for wearing a "Man of God" headband into a charitable cause.
Davis posted an Instagram message Tuesday, saying he has raised more than $30,000 in sales of headbands reading: "Man of God," "Woman of God" and "Child of God." Money from the sales benefits the St. Dominic Hospital in Mississippi. The linebacker won his appeal of the punishment for wearing the headband earlier in the season. He plans to donate the original fine funds, in addition to the money he helped raise.
"That means y'all helped me turn a $7,000 negative into an almost $40,000 positive benefiting people who truly need it," Davis wrote on Instagram. "Do y'all see how that worked?? Let's go. That's crazy! Y'all are a part of this journey too!! I can't thank ya'll enough either. We're on a mission over here. Obstacles are meant to be conquered! I'm truly as blessed as anybody."
Davis' post included a photo of children wearing his headbands at St. Louis King of France Catholic School in Metairie, La. The eight-year veteran announced his fundraising campaign for the hospital Sept. 28.
Davis' mother worked at St. Dominic Hospital. The funds Davis is raising will help the hospital expand its emergency room.
The NFL's uniform policy prohibits players from wearing, displaying or conveying personal messages in writing or illustration unless the message is approved in advance by the league office. Davis said he wasn't fully aware of the policy.
The linebacker did not wear the headband in Week 4 or Week 5.
The 30-year-old defender joined the Saints as a free agent in 2018. He had seven tackles, two passes defensed and a tackle for a loss in the Saints' Week 5 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Davis has 35 tackles, three tackles for a loss and two passes defensed in five starts in 2019. He had 110 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, five sacks, four passes defensed, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 16 starts in 2018.
Davis has never missed a game during his career. He led the the NFL with 97 solo tackles in 2017, while with the New York Jets.
