Sometimes, obvious facts don’t need to be confirmed in the form of a published report. It’s nevertheless useful to have corroboration, when it happens.

Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal, via Sports Business Daily, reports that the NFL “deliberately” delayed fining 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa for wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat following an October 27 Sunday night game against the Cowboys until after the presidential election.

The league wanted, per the report, to avoid having any punishment of Bosa become a last-minute issue in the campaign.

That’s why the league ignored multiple media inquiries in the aftermath of Bosa donning a MAGA hat and videobombing post-game interviews during the NBC broadcast. The NFL wanted to kick the can until after November 5, and it did.

The relevant rule applies to any personal or political messages, whether for one candidate or the other and in any race, federal, state, or local. And there was no reason to wait. It was a clear violation, automatically triggering the $11,255 fine.

The wait was wise. It kept Bosa’s hat from becoming an eleventh-hour hot potato. And the criticism of the league for waiting to fine Bosa has been minimal.