Fans burning jerseys is not a new phenomenon. It’s happened before and it will happen again.
The most recent example came a few short days ago, after the Pittsburgh Steelers announced they have signed Aaron Rodgers for the 2025 season. Perhaps not surprisingly, the act went viral on social media.
Don't come back pic.twitter.com/ynz2AUGHIP
— SteelCityReece (@Steelcityreece) June 6, 2025
That video, posted by @SteelCityReese, features him erupting in fury over what he called the “killing” of the team’s future.
“Well, today, June 5, 2025, I’ll never be a Steelers fan again. Autographed Minkah [Fitzpatrick] jersey — I’m burning all my Steelers stuff. Yinz decide to pick up Aaron Rodgers — I can’t do this anymore. You kill us. You keep killing us. You let go of George Pickens, you know what I mean? You let go of Justin Fields, he had potential to be something. It’s just — it’s crazy. It’s sad. Again, today is my last day being a Steelers fan. So, thank you Rooneys. Thank you Tomlin. You really did it. Bye bye.”
I can understand a fan setting alight a jersey of a recently traded player (or FA departure), where said fan becomes butt-hurt when one of his/her favorites leaves the team. Giants fans recently did that with their Saquon Barkley jerseys. Fans viewed him leaving for division rival Philly as the ultimate act of betrayal.
But the most recent fan displeasure, as evidence by @SteelCityReese, makes less sense. In this instance, he set his signed Minkah Fitzpatrick jersey on fire to protest the signing of Rodgers. Yeah, I get that he is “burning all (his) Steelers stuff,” but why Minkah Fitzpatrick? Or any current player, for that matter? If you’re protesting the signing of Rodgers, maybe burning his effigy or some kind of Rodgers paraphrenalia would make more sense.
Of course, pretty much anyone burning a jersey in protest probably isn’t thinking straight — and maybe it was a spur of the moment thing and the only jersey he had handy was Fitz’. Maybe.
Fans burning jerseys is a way to show strong disappointment with a team, player, or specific events, like a player’s departure. This act symbolizes letting go and publicly demonstrating frustration or disapproval.
But again, why Fitzpatrick? It made no sense to Cam Heyward. Upon being shown the jersey burning video, the Steelers defensive leader quickly jumped to Fitzpatrick’s defense on social media, writing: “First off, why Minkah’s jersey? That’s bonkers. Second, why burn it when people need clothes? Third, you’ll regret it!”
Thoughts
First off why Minkah’s jersey? That’s bonkers
Second
Why burn when there plenty people that need clothes?
Third
You are going to regret it!!— Cam Heyward (@CamHeyward) June 6, 2025
I’m with Heyward on this one.
I’m sure @SteelCityReese posted the video not just as a protest against signing Rodgers, but also to get a few clicks. But the fact remains he torched a signed jersey!
Oh well.
Have any of you ever burned a jersey? If so, whose jersey was it and why? And if you’re like most people and prefer to express your feelings of outrage against “your” team in other ways, what did you do? Did you stop following the team? Root against them? Give away all your fan gear?
Even if you’ve never undertaken such an act, what do you think about those who do? Are they really *that* crazy stupid unbalanced upset…or is it — especially now with social media as big in some people’s lives as it is — just a performative act designed to generate reactions?
“You let go of George Pickens”
You’re welcome, Reese. He was a bigger diva than Rodgers.
Never burned a jersey. As Cam Heyward said, people need clothes. So if I ever was tempted I’d just drop it off at Goodwill or a shelter.
Never seen a live jersey burning either. I did see someone dragging a Lebron jersey off the back of his car shortly after The Decision to go to South Beach.
Not thrilled about the Rodgers signing, but 1) sports are meant to be a fun distraction, not a reason to be filled with rage, and 2) I’m not looking for clicks on social media. I quietly dropped my Steelers fandom before when I got tired of James Harrison trying to decapitate everybody. When he left I returned. For now I’m expecting the worst and hoping for the best. At least they’re not the Pirates.
“but why Minkah Fitzpatrick?”
I *almost* could see Browns fans burning his jersey, since he’s the one who collided with Nick Chubb’s knee. He’s not real popular around Northeast Ohio these days.
Maybe that’s why Pittsburgh keeps drafting Ohio State players…so the two Ohio teams in the division will dislike them less.
You’re on to something here. I hate Pittsburgh as a Browns fan. But I’ll be damned if I won’t smile every time Cam, Will Howard or Captain Jack make a play there. And I wanted to see Fields be successful and I’m glad he is getting a fresh start with Garrett in NY.
I’ve never even thought about burning a jersey. It must be cathartic to some people. I’d rather donate or trash memorabilia I no longer find valuable.
I understand the reasoning if a fan burns a jersey when a player goes a rival team or something like that.
Personally, I’d rather just donate it to a homeless shelter.
But this specific situation is just weird. Especially because it is not like there were great moves for the Steelers to make in the QB market this year. They have a competitive team, take a flyer on a former MVP for one year to see if something special happens. There were no better options for them.
Not a Steelers fan, but I think the frustration is more with the team’s handling of the QB situation over the last 5 years or so, which resulted in their best option this offseason being a 41 year old who hasn’t been good in four years and tore his Achilles two years ago.
Keep Minkah in the closet for a season. Rodgers is gonna suck and then retire.
You spend hundreds of dollars on a jersey just to burn it when a player changes teams or a team makes a bad decision? That sounds like a seriously unstable person who should not be allowed to make decisions you ask me.
The thing that I always found the craziest about jersey burning is that most of these “fans” likely don’t leave that teams Fandom after the burning. They in turn just turn around and buy new jerseys or merch down the road. So in an attempt to “teach the team a lesson” all they are really doing is putting more money in the teams pockets. Im sure that really shows ’em.
Don’t understand why a fan would burn a jersey or say that they no longer will cheer for that team. To me it just means they were never truly a fan. We all get upset with our favorite team and decisions they make that we can’t control but we get over it and move on. Personally I can’t afford to find a new team, I have so much money, history and emotional baggage invested to start over. Plus, Rodgers is a one year deal, it will be over before you know it.
I love it when fans burn their jerseys. It doesn’t hurt anybody, and it makes me look sane. a win win!
“In this instance, he set his signed Minkah Fitzpatrick jersey on fire to protest the signing of Rodgers. Yeah, I get that he is “burning all (his) Steelers stuff,” but why Minkah Fitzpatrick?”
I think the question was answered right before it was asked. I’m guessing it’s the most noteworthy Steelers item.
Yeah, destroy your $300 t-shirt (even more since it’s signed, in this case). That’ll show ’em. Look at me! Look at me! Are they looking at me?
Although I’m interested in uniforms and logos, I doubt I’ll ever buy a named jersey of an active player. Too often they get traded, move to a different team, or get caught doing something awful. I had a female work friend who had a successful first-ever season of fantasy football with her first overall pick of Ray Rice, and her fiance bought her a Rice jersey after that season, right before the infamous elevator tape came out.
In the case of a player who signs with a rival team in free agency, I think it’s silly to hold it against them unless they say bad things about the city or the fans. It’s a business, it’s their career, and they can only play at that level for a relatively short period of time.
Burning your clothes because you disagree with a team’s personnel decision is even more silly. If I were a Steelers fan I’d be against the Rodgers move, too, but I could never get that worked up about something like that. Just say that you think it’s stupid, put down the gasoline, and be proven right later. And don’t buy any more overpriced crap from them. Vote against their next stadium subsidy scam, or instruct your representative to do so.
I’ve only bought named jerseys of retired players – well until recently. I’ll usually get an Ed Reed or Ray Lewis jersey, but last year or so, I bought a Lamar Jackson jersey. And I’ll wear it if/when he switches to #1
Why do fans burn jerseys? Simply put, because “Peeps be stupes”. There’s no accommodating for the stupidity of most humans.
Agreed with everything already stated here, but what makes this especially maddening to me is the Steelers are arguably the 2nd most successful team in the league in the past 50 years. There are at least 25-30 fan bases who would kill for their track record.
This is performative outrage, plain and simple. The most obvious clue is that this jabroni is recording himself doing it and posting it on social media. This is also just an unrealistic portrayal of how a person stops being a fan of something.
Why do people burn their team’s jersey? Because burning one of their team’s players would be a crime.
I would never do it, but I totally get why fans choose to burn a jersey or other merch. The relationship between a fan and a team can feel deep and even emotionally intimate, but that relationship actually lacks any leverage or opportunities for feedback or two-way communication deeper than the relationship between a big-box retailer and a customer. So the fan has these big emotions of the type that in a real human-to-human relationship might be resolved in a healthy way with a personal conversation, or even an argument, but the emotions have no meaningful outlet. So the alternatives might reasonably feel like they’re limited to “just bottle it up and keep quiet” versus “express your emotion by destroying whatever merch you have at hand.”
As far as reasons not to burn a team jersey, “People need donated clothing” is not a persuasive answer to me. For one thing, just about every time there’s a national disaster, nonprofits have to waste time reminding people that they don’t actually need a flood of donated clothes. There are places in the world where clothes are in short supply; North America isn’t one of those places. And even when clothing is needed, sports jerseys rarely fill the need. I wouldn’t burn a jersey because that just seems cringe to me, and wasteful in a personal way, but I wouldn’t be worried that I’d be causing some needful person in my community to go unclothed.
I’ve never burned a jersey, but I did throw away all of my Rams jerseys and other merch when they left St. Louis. I wouldn’t say I root against them now – I haven’t watched an NFL game since.
When the Chargers left San Diego, every ex Chargers fan hopes they are terrible into eternity. No one liked/likes the current owners. No one wants them to do well at all. No one wants them back. Yes, some burned jerseys (That will show the owners!!), but I certainly kept my signed LT jersey.
After thinking about this for a bit, I think burning an old jersey is the antithesis of Using Your Dollars To Make A Point. To me, a better display would be to wear old jerseys of players no longer with the team.
If your team: Rents a 40 year old QB for one season, doesn’t spend money on Free Agents, re-signs a terrible Head Coach, is just terrible ownership, etc, etc.: wear the old jersey to games and around town.
In 2021 my wife and I had season tickets to Lions games, and the majority of Ford Field was old jerseys with screen printed numbers worn off. It was a sign to Ownership, we’ll always be fans, but we’re not spending any money on Merchandise that you profit from until you start investing in the On-Field Product.
Fast forward to 2024, and the fantastic ownership of Shiela Hamp Ford. Today you’re hard pressed to find an old jersey in the building. Everyone wants to support the players AND the organization now, and are putting their Consumer Dollars back into the team.
It may be a specific edge case, but I think the concept has value
I don’t understand the confusion. He burned his Fitzpatrick jersey because it’s a STEELERS jersey. It was probably the only Steelers jersey he had. It had nothing whatsoever to do with Fitz. Seems pretty obvious to me.
That being said, no real Steelers fan is going to swear off the entire franchise over this. These guys are just throwing a tantrum, and I don’t blame them. Rodgers is insufferable. But there’s no way these people are going to stop attending or watching Steelers games.
And as a lifelong, diehard, yada yada yada Browns fan, I LOVE this!
Finally, I cannot understand why the Steelers keep acquiring me-first egomaniac diva WRs all the time. Antonio Brown, JuJu, Claypool, Diontae Johnson, Pickens, etc. Sure, they eventually get rid of these clowns, but it amazes me that Tomlin is not able to straighten any of them out.
This leads me to believe that Tomlin is highly overrated as a tough, discipline-minded coach. He puts on a good front and talks tough, but it looks like he’s all marshmallow underneath.
Keep burning them. That will show the owners!!!! (Like the owners care at all).
Fairly certain that @SteelCityReese wasn’t the one who torched it. The video had the tag @greencheckdegen, and the caption of “Don’t come back” leads me to believe @SteelCityReese was expressing their displeasure with whoever did the deed.
Was looking for this comment before posting it myself. Surprised it took me so long to scroll and find it!
The reason some fools ignite jerseys. .I’ll just borrow a reporters comment while cars burned in the most recent LA street fair.. “Its fun”
Because many sports fans are immature and not very bright. They take sports way too seriously and devote way too much of their time and resources on tickets, team merch, etc. You think teams care that you’re burning their jersey? No. Wear it, burn it…you already gave them your money for it.
The bigger question is why do people spend $300 and upward on team swag? Particularly if they’re not of the manor born and probably could make better use of that money elsewhere. Once we’ve determined that such a person lacks judgment, burning the same jersey later on simply because a billionaire decided to sign a millionaire he doesn’t like makes perfect sense.
I have been disappointed with my team’s decisions in the past, but it never occurred to me to burn my jerseys or stop rooting for the team.
Destroying your own property harms no one but yourself. I see guys posting videos of themselves destroying their television sets after a playoff loss. Idiots. Donate or give your stuff away. I know it doesn’t provide the emotional catharsis destroying stuff does, but you aren’t exactly impressing anyone with this behavior.
Or better yet, dress like an adult and leave the jerseys for the kiddies.
How do adults dress?
They don’t wear head-to-toe team gear or face paint. Grow up and realize you’re not on the team. It’s embarrassing.
Okay so your argument clearly lacks any substance if you have to immediately extrapolate. “Head-to-toe team gear or face paint” isn’t exactly the same as wearing a jersey, is it? Not that there’s anything wrong with that anyway. I’ve never seen a Bengals player with tiger face paint.
True, that. Grown men look silly in jerseys.
The only time I wear mine is if I’m actually going to see them play in person.
This discussion has gone a bit sideways. Do what you want. Wear what you want. Burn it if you want (but understand the team already has your money).
I think it’s juvenile for adults to wear jerseys. But it’s only my humble opinion, and many clearly disagree.
Kinda wild that you’re posting this on a site that is primarily filled with _people who wear sports jerseys as everyday wear_.
“on a site that is primarily filled with _people who wear sports jerseys as everyday wear_.”
I’m not sure that’s necessarily the case. Are there a lot of folks who wear jerseys (other than just to games)? Quite possibly, but I don’t believe the demographic is “primarily” filled with “People who wear sports jerseys as everyday wear.”
And it may (or may not) surprise you, but AFAIK, Paul doesn’t own any jerseys (other than vintage or perhaps those gifted to him), and the only jerseys I own are a couple I picked up at TJ Maxx years ago at deep discounts, or have been gifted to me. The only sporting event to which I’ve even worn an actual jersey are Islander games, and the jersey I wear was gifted to me from adidas.
I tend to think folks who are really into jerseys and who wear them daily are probably more attracted to sites like Uni Swag.
Not quite. This site is focused on the uniforms that pro and amateur athletes wear in competition. Not what fans wear waiting in the beer line. Tired of this discussion. Wear what you want. Pretend it’s Halloween every day. Knock yourself out.
T Ganz it’s truly amazing how you are pretending to shut down the conversation out of frustration while doubling down on your condescending comments.
This is trying to rationalize an irrational obsession; devotion to a team you’re not a part of.
My best friend has no interest in sports and I often wonder if it’s better to be a sports fan and take the ups and downs or to not be a fan and to miss out on the championship seasons. If he ever told me he burned a jersey I would be shocked he had one.
I couldn’t agree less. The fans are the team. Players that genuinely care about the team they play for are quite rare, especially in the modern era. I’m not saying it’s good or bad – for many, it’s just a job, and that’s totally fine. But to suggest that players are the team and fans aren’t, and to criticize fans for being “obsessed’ is quite frankly ridiculous.
And it goes beyond players. My friend is a die hard Leafs fan, but he works for the Vancouver Canucks organization. He’s technically “part of the team”, right? He often wears a Vancouver hat, jacket, or whatever. Is he, as someone who was hired purely for his skills (like players), more entitled to wear Canucks gear than people from Vancouver who genuinely love the team?
And to be clear, I don’t agree with burning jerseys.
Being from outside North America I have a more or less pronounced preference for some football/hockey/basketball/baseball teams (NY Giants, Rangers, Bucks, Mets, Notre Dame) but not a hatred of others. So I collect and wear merch from just about any team in existence (yes, even the Phillies, Yankees, Bruins or Eagles. Miami Hurricanes or OSU Buckeyes…well, OK. USC Trojans: a fitted maroon SC monogram hat would still make my collection, but with serious doubts attached). I would never burn an item: better donate it to somebody who wants to wear it instead.
HOWEVER: when it comes to Euro soccer I will never buy or wear anything that has a logo of Juventus, Real Madrid, any of the Red Bull clubs, Dynamo Dresden, Liverpool FC or Chelsea. If I receive an item with the logo of said clubs I will thank the giver politely and later on dump it in a thrift store or give it to somebody supporting these truly horrible teams. But burning stuff? Never.
The Steelers “Rogers” era will be brief. And he has to compete with QB quality within his division like he has not encountered before. He doesnt automatically top the list just be being Rogers. Instead he fights whoever The Browns roll out in avoidance of the cellar.
People that burn jerseys should just wear a shirt that says “LOOK AT ME!” Jerseys are expensive luxury items.
If I buy a jersey in the first place, that probably means that it’s signed, and ,likely, inside a frame on my wall. I’m not burning it…but some people just aren’t the smartest. So, to each his own. I’m a “grown men shouldn’t wear the names of younger men on their backs” guy. You wanna sport a Montana jersey? Cool. Butkus? Unitas? Payton? Sanders? Campbell? Moon? Great.
Burning jerseys is such petulant juvenile nonsense. I live in Cleveland; when LeBron left the first time, people burned his jerseys. When he came back, they all bought new ones. When he left for the Lakers in free agency, they burned the ones they bought four years earlier. Just stupidity.
Because petulant children grow into petulant adults?
I’m intrigued at how context drives fan response to a player’s (or sometimes, team’s) departure. If the team trades a player and ships him off, the player usually gets a sympathetic response; fans sometimes even provide a warm welcome and cheer when s/he returns as a member of another team. But heaven forbid a player chooses to leave a team and go play somewhere else. That’s when you get the burned jerseys. Why are we OK with a team making a business decision to dump a player, but not with a player making a business decision to go get a bigger bag or play on a more competitive squad? As far as teams, I totally understand, say, San Diegans burning their Chargers stuff when the team moved to LA, or Baltimoreans when the Colts left, etc. But then you have the Raiders, and fans in the cities they’ve spurned who still love them wholeheartedly… how did the silver and black pull of getting the people they’ve left behind to still root for them? No burned Raiders gear in Oakland or LA or Oakland again… how?