Real men wear pink. In October at least. If you’ve watched an NFL game the past couple of weekends, you probably noticed players donning hot pink cleats, gloves, towels, wristbands and hats. No, your favorite team hasn’t changed colors. The league is sporting the feminine color in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, this October.

Pink is the de facto color for breast cancer awareness, ever since pink ribbons were handed out at the 1991 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in New York City. The color has become so ubiquitous every fall, some companies are accused of “pinkwashing” — selling pink products to boost profits without donating money to a breast cancer charity or having limited transparency of where the funds are directed.

All apparel worn by NFL players in October will be auctioned off and proceeds benefitting American Cancer Society’s screening outreach program.

Read more Q&A about the NFL and breast cancer on Answers.com.