NFL taunting penalties: League claims nine of 11 calls were correct

The NFL's new taunting rule doesn't have many fans outside the league, but the early effects have seen 11 calls over the first two weeks. According to the league, nine of those 11 calls were correct.

Mike Jones, from USA Today, spoke with a person with knowledge of the situation on condition of anonymity. The person declared that the league is satisfied with how the rule has been emphasized by the referees. Although the source revealed that nine out of 11 calls were correct, he did not name which two were incorrect.

Pro Football Talk speculated about which taunting calls were incorrect, and cited two good possibilities.

"Two possibilities are: 1. Texans tight end Jordan Akins was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct for spinning the ball after a first-down catch. Other players in other games did not receive penalties for the same gesture. 2. Chargers receiver Keenan Allen took exception to Bradlee Anae‘s hit to Allen’s earhole, and Allen received a taunting penalty."

Coaches like the new taunting rule

It's not just the league office that likes the new rule. Coaches are into it as well. Washington coach Ron Rivera, who's a member of the competition committee that approved the point of emphasis in the new rule, talked about the enforcement recently. He told reporters this week

“We’ve had this example where one guy taunts a guy and then the guy comes back for a little payback and the next thing you know, you’ve got a big fight on your hands. And that’s really what, to me I think, the referees are relevant for — they’re just trying to get it quieted down. And that’s really what — I mean, you can do the celebration.”

He went on to add:

“Guys intercept [a pass] and run all the way down to the end zone — that’s fine,” Rivera said. “We’re not trying to stop the players from having fun. We’re just trying to make sure we don’t end up with a brawl on our hands. Because that’s the other thing, we don’t want that."

"This is a great sport. We’ve got a great fan base. People enjoy watching the games. And there are some that like watching the fights, but we don’t need the fights. We really don’t. And we don’t need anybody getting hurt unnecessarily.”

Baltimore Ravens v Washington Football Team

The new taunting rule is upsetting fans. There's not enough clarity about what's taunting and what's just a regular celebration. There's a valid point about no more brawls, but there's got to be some clarity to understand how the rule really works.