NFL’s irrational crackdown on mockery continues with Clyde Edwards-Helaire fined

I don’t know if you’ve heard of it before, but the NFL is very strict about mockery these days. Players on the left and right are getting penalized for taunting more than any other season. As Ringer’s note, there have been only 19 mock calls in the NFL in the previous two seasons. By Week 9, there had been 27 such calls. TWENTY. SEVEN.

The most recent victim of the harsh NFL taunt rule is Chief of Kansas City rerun Clyde Edwards-Helaire. During Week 11’s big win over the Dallas Cowboys, Edwards-Helaire pointed to Cowboys guard Luke Gifford. Apparently, the umpires thought Gifford was severely traumatized, as they gave him the penalty of taunting him and fine of about 10 thousand dollars.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire was called out for mockery because he pointed at #Cowboys LB Luke Gifford.

It is uncertain how Gifford will recover after that. pic.twitter.com/80QCqNJg5b

– Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 21, 2021

While this is an obvious mockery call, a number of mocking calls in the NFL have been made that are… at best questionable. The most serious call came during Monday Night Football, when the Bears’ guard Cassius Marsh was called to mock after… this horrible act he did.

Cassius Marsh calls… to mock…. pic.twitter.com/OZ0jkCqWOp

– Justin (@hobokenjustin) November 9, 2021

Yes, you have seen exactly my friend. Marsh was called out for taunts, after he stared into the air and accidentally bumped into an official. NFL rules book states that a mocking penalty is given when there is:

“The use of actions or words to induce or mock or mock maliciously causes malice among teams.”

Fair enough. It’s not just the NFL that has enforced mocking rules. For example, the NBA also has a strict mocking rule that they implement. That’s why players like Dikembe Mutombo and Serge Ibaka had to make their finger-waving motion in front of the crowd. LeBron James was also penalized for mockery after he stared at Jason Terry in this play.

However, the NFL’s implementation of the mockery was… preferably won. There have been some legitimate arguments for a taunt (the Clyde Edwards-Helaire mode might be the best call this season), but there have been plenty of questionable taunt calls that have changed the game. Case in point: this Elijhaa Penny mocking call.

This is called mocking ‍♂️
pic.twitter.com/FHVLsndbPU

– PFF (@PFF) November 2, 2021

Apparently, Penny wasn’t mocking any of the Kansas City players. He just pointed down the field, as most receivers do after taking the first shot. However, because Penny accidentally pointed at an opposing player, the refs decided to throw him a mocking flag. However, the movement is clearly not meant to mock the player…

The rationale for these rules, according to coaches, is simple: they want to be a role model. This is Bears coach Matt Nagy make mockery rules days after his guardian Marsh was penalized:

“People watch, and people want to see a little bit of respect and a little bit of doing things the right way. That’s not to say you can’t have fun, but there are kids watching the game right now… I’m a firm believer in respect and just growing and observing kids and we have a huge background as leaders. Players and coaches. Understand what the rules are, do it the right way. ”

Well, fair enough. You have to set a good example for the kids watching. However, if you’re going to follow these rules… at least do it the right way, man. The way the NFL is implementing their taunt rule right now takes away the fun of watching the sport and affects the games too much.

Hopefully the NFL starts making it easier to implement their taunt rules. Because if they continue like this, they may never get rid of the “No Fun League” moniker.