Getty Image / Wesley Hitt
The NFL continues to do everything in their power to make sure their players can’t do anything fun.
The league has plenty of actual issues it can focus on, but it has instead decided that they really need to crack down on taunting. Last year they decided refs needed to crack down on taunting, leading to a record number of taunting flags in 2021.
Despite fans having no interest in continuing to see players flagged for celebrating big plays, the league decided refs needed to keep cracking down on taunting this season.
The league has even made sure to throw some fines around to really make sure players don’t get carried away with their celebrations. It took only 1 game for them to hand out the first taunting fine of the year as they hit Stefon Diggs with one after the Buffalo Bills’ season opening win over the Los Angeles Rams.
This week they’ve once again decided that a celebration should cost players some money. This time around it is actually 4 members of the Dallas Cowboys that will be paying for their celebration.
NFL fines four Cowboys for Salvation Army bucket celebration. https://t.co/ro50KYeOs1
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) December 3, 2022
The fines come as a result of Dalton Schultz, Jake Ferguson, Peyton Hendershot, and Sean McKeon involving the Salvation Army bucket in ta celebration of a Schultz touchdown during the team’s Thanksgiving Day win over the New York Giants.
Schultz will pay $13,261. Ferguson’s fine will cost $4,895. Hendershot is being fined $3,944 and McKeon will pay $4,944.
Punishing players for an act that got a charity some time on national television seems like a pretty ridiculous move from the league. You’d think that would be encouraged, especially on Thanksgiving.
I guess the potential positives weren’t enough to discourage the NFL from taking this opportunity to remind everybody that fun is frowned upon in the league,