The NFL, if you haven’t noticed, has been taking sportsmanship very seriously this year and have asked refs to throw a flag if anyone even kind of looks like they might be taunting their opponents.
Yup, grown adults who are risking everything on every play now have to be super careful to not celebrate too hard after a big play because a ref might interpret that as taunting and issue a 15-yard penalty.
Is that dumb and ruining games? Yeah, of course it is.
That happened in last Monday night’s game between the Bears and Steelers when Chicago’s Cassius Marsh was called for taunting after a big sack late in the fourth quarter.
While fans crushed the NFL for the really lame call, the league has stood by it. Check out this video (it’s at the 1-minute mark) of NFL SVP of Officiating Perry Fewell breaking it down:
NFL SVP of Officiating Perry Fewell on the Cassius Marsh taunting penalty from Monday night: “He takes several steps towards the Pittsburgh bench, posturing towards their sideline.”
Once again, the league isn’t backing off the emphasis on taunting.pic.twitter.com/QzH6fl02XK
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 10, 2021
How rude of Marsh to take “several steps toward the Pittsburgh bench.” Throw in a “posturing toward their sideline” and I am offended!
How rude!
Twitter wasn’t impressed with this lame explanation: