NFL Drops The Ball With Chad Ochocinco's Tribute To Chris Henry

Chad Ochocinco is not stranger to criticism and controversy. In fact, you could say Ochocinco strives to make himself the center of attention during each and every football season.

He is constantly being fined by the National Football League for his over the top touchdown celebrations.

Likewise, he is constantly chastised in the media for performing these “immature” celebrations.

Some fans tend to enjoy these antics, while others feel that his act as grown stale and old, and that he needs to grow up.

When Ochocinco’s teammate Chris Henry died last Thursday, Ochocinco took the news very hard .

The two teammates we very close and Ochocinco went so far as to refer to Henry as his little brother.

Now, everyone grieves differently when it comes to the loss of a loved one, and Ochocinco planned to wear Henry’s number 15 jersey in this past Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers to honor his fallen friend’s legacy.

When Ochocinco asked the NFL for permission to wear Henry’s jersey he was met with a firm “No.”

Now, of course the league has rules when it comes to uniforms, and as such they should be enforced regularly. Having said that, the NFL dropped the ball here by not allowing Ochocinco to wear Henry’s number.

This was not a case of Ochocinco looking to cause trouble and make a spectacle out of himself and the sport, he was dealing with the loss of a close friend and he though this was the best way to honor him.

Roger Goodell has been a firm, but fair, commissioner during his time with the NFL and he does not take crap from anyone who looks to cause trouble. However, when it came to this decision, he ruled unfairly.

There is precedent in both basketball and baseball for players wearing different jersey numbers during the course of the season.

Michael Jordan was allowed to change his jersey number from 45 back to 23 upon return from his first retirement.

Baseball honors Jackie Robinson’s legacy each and every year by allowing players to wear his retired number 42 for one day.

What would be the harm of allowing Ochocinco to wear 15 for one day?

Now some might say those are extenuating circumstances, in that those sports are honoring two of their greatest players. That should not matter though.

Chris Henry’s death was an extenuating circumstance, and while it is against the rules, we have learned time after time in the sports world rules are made to be broken.

Sensing that his planned tribute might become to much of a distraction to the team, it was Chad Ochocinco who ultimately took the high road:

"It's becoming more of a distraction for myself and my team," Ochocinco texted. "Chris wouldn't want it to go the way it is.

"It can turn into a big negative if we don't perform the way we should. I'll have his jersey in hand throughout the entire game. His jersey is also 4 times bigger than my normal one."

For a man who has been constantly criticized during his career for being selfish, self-absorbed, and immature, it certainly appears that Chad Ochocinco is more of a man then we all thought he was.

When all was said and done Ochocinco decided to let his play pay tribute  to his “little brother”.