Another NFL game, another bogus taunting penalty.
During Monday Night Football between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders, Darren Waller was given a taunting penalty for spiking the football while celebrating a catch. Facing down a third and five in the second quarter, Waller pulled in a catch for a 21-yard gain for the Raiders. While being pushed out of bounds, Waller spiked the football to the ground on the Chargers side of the field, which drew the referees’ attention.
The kicker here? Waller wasn’t even looking at the Chargers’ defenders who pushed him out of bounds, making this one of the worst taunting calls we’ve seen this year.
Darren Waller was called for taunting for SPIKING the ball.
IT WASN'T EVEN TOWARDS AN OPPONENT pic.twitter.com/dNDwoHoLLR
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 5, 2021
As a result of the penalty, the Raiders’ drive stalled after being assessed the 15-yard infraction.
We’ve seen many terrible taunting calls already in the NFL, and we’re only in Week 4! This is already shaping up to be one of the worst rule changes in league history.
As expected, NFL fans were irate at the taunting penalty thrown Waller’s way after the decision came down.