If you are of the opinion that the NFL has sucked the fun out of football, especially when it comes to celebrations, we have some good news for you. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to tell owners that group celebrations, using the ball as a prop after touchdowns, going to the ground and snow angels are all now legal, according to USAToday.com's Tom Pelissero.
There are still acts the league frowns upon -- and will continue to punish:
Prolonged acts, miming weapons, offensive gestures, sexually suggestive stuff still expected to be banned. That includes twerking. Sorry, AB
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 23, 2017
Quick refresher: Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown was flagged and fined for this twerk-tastic touchdown celebration during Week 1 of the 2016 season:
A few weeks later, Brown was flagged again, prompting the league to distribute an explanatory video of what was and was not acceptable.
"We certainly want the teams to have clarification, and this isn't a new issue," former VP of officials Dean Blandino said at the time. "We've been dealing with this in the past. And so we're going to send a tape out in the next week or so and clarify some of these things. But the key is if it's a gesture that either mimics a violent act -- that's something with a firearm or a bow and arrow -- or a sexually suggestive act, those are unsportsmanlike conduct. That's ... something that officials will flag. That's direct from the competition committee and something that we're going to try to be as consistent as possible."
So while the celebration rules have been relaxed, hip-thrustin' homages to Key & Peele remain off the table.
But hey, it's something, right? Meanwhile, Goodell met with players during the offseason for guidance on how to best tweak the rules. The emphasis is on "spontaneous exuberance," writes Pelissero who adds: The "result should be more fun, fewer flags."
