The NFL’s new point of emphasis for the 2021 season: Don’t let anyone have any fun.
As if we don’t see referees enough during NFL games, the league has decided to crack down on “taunting.” The focus looks to be on players directing celebrations at members of the other team, with the league’s examples of punishable taunts being relatively tame acts of celebration. (One of the two was actually called as a penalty, as you can see in the video).
This is the video sent out today around the new strictly enforced taunting rules in games this season
Thoughts?
pic.twitter.com/FpwWHUxv6u— PFF (@PFF) August 10, 2021
Taunting is generally understood to be a natural part of a game in which 22 grown men collide with each other for 60 minutes. Egregious examples of taunting aren’t being ignored. Over the past two seasons, there have been 19 taunting penalties. This isn’t something coaches or players or fans desperately want to be fixed. It’s a solution in search of a problem.
The decision likely stemmed from this past February when Tampa Bay safety Antoine Winfield Jr. flashed the peace sign to Kansas City receiver Tyreek Hill. Hill is known for doing the same when he scores touchdowns, and he did it to Winfield earlier in the season when he beat the rookie for a touchdown.
But Winfield was flagged for his taunting during the game. The NFL is now calling on officials to focus on taunting even though they have already done a good job of policing it. When the NFL tells referees to focus on something, it typically backfires, as the 2019 season showed when holding calls more than doubled after similar league guidance.
The “No Fun League” moniker always manages to stick around, and it is certainly appropriate here. Fans don’t want to see more penalty flags, and we certainly don’t want to see players get ejected from games for mild taunting. For a league that recently relaxed the rules for touchdown celebrations, this is certain to be a step backward.
