When the NFL did a poor job of preparing fans and media for the seismic shift regarding the prohibition on taunting, we (foolishly) grabbed an oar in an effort to help the league explain what the rule is, and what it isn’t.
After a full season of the latest “point of emphasis” regarding a rule that has been on the books for years, here’s what it is: A mess. Here’s what it isn’t: Good for the game.
Many confused the ban on taunting as the elimination of celebration. It definitely is not. Players can still celebrate. They just can’t celebrate in the faces of their opponents.
It’s easy, in theory. It’s much more difficult, in practice. Sunday’s foul on Buccaneers defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh illustrates the biggest problem with the rule. Suh said something to former teammate (now Rams quarterback) Matthew Stafford because Suh believed Stafford kicked him. Suh, who ironically has been known to use a foot or two from time to time, wasn’t taunting Stafford. He was expressing disapproval over getting kicked.
The lesson for coaches and players continues to be clear. Direct nothing to any opponent, under any circumstance. Positive, negative, whatever, anything you say can and will be used against you.
But that’s stupid. It’s unrealistic. Football is a sport that thrives on human emotion. It evokes human emotion. How can players be expected to access those emotions in order to do their jobs and then to immediately flip the switch from on to off?
We gave it a year. We tried to understand. We’re done. We’re out. The rule is crap, and it needs to go.