The NFL’s love affair with taunting penalties has been tough to watch this season, but Roger Goodell is sticking to his guns; speaking about the uptick in 15-yard unsportsmanlike flags at the owner’s meetings in Houston.
Goodell made some good points; stating the NFL’s youngest views and youth football organizations.
“It comes down to balancing a lot of issues,” Goodell told reporters in Houston. “The professional standards that we want to uphold. We do believe that our players are role models and others look at that at the youth level, so that’s important for us to hold that standard up. It’s part of being a professional.”
“We look at it as sportsmanship,” Goodell said. “And that can lead to, in most cases, when somebody taunts somebody else, somebody reacts and that can escalate. I don’t think they’re being officiated inconsistently. People may not like the rule, they may not like the line that’s been drawn.”
Ebenezer Samuel, of the NY Daily News, likened Goodell’s argument to the recent actions of Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr.:
“Let’s all get one thing straight: The NFL player who spent Sunday afternoon ripping off his helmet in over-exuberance after scoring a touchdown and (gulp) delivering a mock wedding proposal to a kicking net was a role model.
At least that’s what Odell Beckham Jr. — and every other NFL player — is supposed to be, according to Roger Goodell. And at the owners meetings on Wednesday, the NFL commissioner tried to make that clear.
That generation watches and learns from Beckham’s less brilliant antics, too. And do you REALLY want to see a 10-year-old scoring a TD and running over to the sideline to propose to somebody’s lawn chair?”
Okay, some of Beckham’s (and others) actions may be over the top sometimes, but MANY of these unsportsmanlike penalties have been ridiculous & literally changed the face of some games.
A throat slash, mooning gesture, middle finger, etc., yes please NFL protect the children.
But taking away a 45-yard pass play because a player tossed the ball a little too closely to the DB covering him, or a RB flexing his muscles after carrying 5 grown men six yards for a 1st down, is not contributing to the poisoning the game at youth levels; and therefor, do not need to be called as such.
