Rich McKay, the chair of the NFL’s Competition Committee, recently explained that the league made the taunting rule a point of emphasis at the request of the NFL Players Association and the NCAA. The president of the NFLPA says that’s not the case.
JC Tretter, in a column published Tuesday, said the union didn’t ask for an emphasis on the enforcement of the rule against taunting.
“I can assure you, as an attendee of the competition committee meeting myself, that was not the case,” Tretter said. “On the contrary, we would support the removal of this point of emphasis immediately.”
The rule, however, has been in place for a long time. It’s not an issue of eliminating celebrations. It’s about removing from the game displays directed at the opponents -- the “in your face” stuff that happens from time to time. The point of emphasis comes from the fact that the officials weren’t calling it consistently.
Regardless, to the extent that McKay claims the union wanted it, the president of the union says it didn’t. It’s an important point, because it’s a lot easier to get the fans and media on board with the point of emphasis if the league can convince everyone that the players wanted it. According to Tretter, they did not.