The NFL began its “Color Rush” campaign on Thursday night with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills game. However it was problematic as some people who were watching the game couldn’t tell the two teams apart.
The Bills had scarlet red jerseys, sleeves, pants, socks and shoes. The Jets had kelly green uniforms. The Jets helmets also had a green chrome finish on the logo and the facemask. If you are colorblind, then you might not have been able to tell the two teams apart. As many as 8 percent of men and 0.5 percent of women worldwide with Northern European ancestry are colorblind in some way, according to the National Eye Institute, ESPN reports. It is estimated that 10 million Americans suffer from it and red-green colorblindness is the most common form.
"The Color Rush jerseys are a test for four games this season, the first of which was last night," the NFL said in a statement on Friday. "We did test the jerseys this summer on field and on television. The standard television test did not account for color blindness for fans at home that became apparent last night. We will enhance our testing to include a color blindness analysis to better address this issue in the future."
Fans complained about the team’s jerseys on Twitter. Former New York Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes was one of the affected viewers who complained on Twitter.
The “Color Rush” campaign will take place in four Thursday games between now and the end of the season. Next week the Tennessee Titians will wear powder blue uniforms and the Jacksonville Jaguars will wear full gold uniforms.
The Bills won the game 22-17.