Why did NFL ban “nose wipe” celebration? Exploring reasons for league's decision

Modified Mar 27, 2025 02:04 GMT

Detroit Lions v Dallas Cowboys - Source: Getty — The NFL has cracked down on CeeDee Lamb's "nose wipe" celebration - Source: Getty

The NFL sent a report to all 32 teams during the week with rule changes for the upcoming season. One specific change caught the attention of NFL fans: the "nose wipe" celebration, popularized by CeeDee Lamb, will now be considered a "violent gesture" and result in a 15-yard penalty.

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The celebration emerged in the NFL across the 2024 season. Dallas Cowboys' star receiver CeeDee Lamb made it popular. However, players like Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon have also done the "nose wipe" in a celebratory mood, specifically after winning 32-12 against the Los Angeles Chargers during the playoffs.

But the "nose wipe" is also considered a popular phrase in rap music, meaning to signal violence against your opponent. Many rappers from the Atlanta scene, such as Young Thug, Gunna and Future have used the expression in their songs.

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According to the league's rules report that has been sent out to the teams and players, making the "wipe your nose" gesture would be considered in the same category as celebrations such as a throat slash, simulating firing, brandishing a gun or acts considered to be sexually suggestive or offensive.

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The Cowboys wide receiver reacted to the news on X/Twitter with displeasure. However, he pointed out that he had many other celebrations in mind to showcase next season.

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The league's prohibition seemingly did not go down well with the fans either. Trolls came out at full force, referring to how children would be affected by the celebration.

Before the 2017 season, the league was dubbed "No Fun League" by its fans after crashing down hard on celebrations when players made big plays. However, they eventually backed down, and from 2017 onwards, allowed some fun celebrations to return without a 15-yard penalty being assigned to it.

Another player who was known for doing the celebration was Deshaun Watson, born and raised in Gainesville, Georgia, close to Atlanta. In a 2018 interview, he referenced Young Thug as one of the reasons that he started doing the celebration. The Cleveland Browns quarterback is currently recovering from an Achilles injury.

About the author

Henrique Bulio is an NFL and College Football journalist at Sportskeeda and the Editor-in-Chief of Pro Football Brasil. He has a total 13 years of experience working in American Football, and playing quarterback at an amateur level in Brazil has given him a unique perspective of the game.

Henrique follows the Philadelphia Eagles closely due to Michael Vick's historic performance on MNF against the Washington Commanders in 2010. His all-time favorite player is Ed Reed; he believes that Reed is the greatest safety to ever play the game. Bill Belichick gets the nod as Henrique's favorite coach for coaching the Patriots to glory over two decades.

If Henrique were to be able to go back in time and watch one game, it would be Super Bowl XLIX, where the Patriots and the Seahawks played a complete, back-and-forth game that concluded with one of the biggest talking points in NFL history.

Technical deep dives are Henrique’s specialty, and he ensures never to use misleading words in his articles, since he himself consumes a lot of information off the web. He has had the privilege of interviewing Cairo Santos, Lamar Jackson, Jim Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Bruce Arians, Matt LaFleur, among others.

Aside from football, Henrique likes to play poker and Counter-Strike.

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Edited by Veer Badani