Fifth-grader’s note prompts pink penalty flags

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Dante Cano had a big idea, so he wrote a letter and sent it to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

With the NFL using pink on hats, cleats and uniforms during the month of October for breast cancer awareness, thought the 11-year-old fan from Marlboro, N.J., why not use the color on the normally yellow penalty flags?

Goodell read the suggestion and jumped on the idea. The game Sunday between the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets featured pink penalty flags at MetLife Stadium – all because of the fifth-grader’s note.

“I really felt sort of foolish because I wish I had thought of it,” Goodell said about an hour before kickoff. “Dante thought of it and when I saw that note, I thought it was a great idea. I talked to our people about it and we got it done pretty quickly.”

Cano presented Goodell and the game officials with the pink penalty flags on the field, and took pictures with him, his family and former Jets star Joe Klecko.