On Oct. 6, head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Jason Garrett, was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct on the sidelines. What looked like a really dramatic flag throwing match became much more because, as the officials put it, Garrett was flagged for abusive language towards said official after throwing a challenge flag to the most recent call. This event was later joked about online, and even encouraged Jerry Jones, the general manager and owner of the Dallas Cowboys, to take to Twitter saying, “I hope the little darling didn’t hear something he hadn’t heard before. We should all stop the wheel over that if he got [a penalty for] abusive language.”
Even though the comments are obviously condescending, I think this does point out an obvious problem in the NFL. Last season, there was a huge debacle over unsportsmanlike conduct and what penalties are considered unsportsmanlike. We had touchdown dances, tension between players, accidental run-ins during tackle and even trips and falls, all falling under the unsportsmanlike umbrella.
Now, the 2019 NFL rulebook outlines these absurd and arbitrary rules. According to Article 1 subsection F: “Prolonged or excessive celebrations or demonstrations by an individual player or multiple players’” is considered a prohibited act. But what is considered prolonged or even excessive? There are many times I watch a game and think that the team imitating a “bowling setup” celebration is excessive, but it really seems to depend on the official on the field that day. Some find it harmless and some immediate flag any and all celebrations in the endzone.
Another interesting rule is subsection C, which states that the use of baiting or taunting acts or words that may engender ill will between the teams is also prohibited. If you watch any game and can catch some of the side comments from the field, you’d know that this type of talk, commonly referred to as “trash talk” is part of the football culture, whether the officials like it or not. “Trash talk” is used to throw the other team off their game, making them flustered so that the other team can overpower them. All teams use these methods, and most of the guys on the team are used to this sort of culture. If this rule is seriously going to be implemented, then there will be a thousand unsportsmanlike calls this season. However, I don’t think that’s going to be the case.
That’s the one thing about rules, especially at this caliber in which not only are the players and officials paying attention, but so are the vast majority of sports spectators. This picking and choosing of the rules they follow and how strictly officials will follow them is ridiculous. It should either be implemented fully or not implemented at all. By picking and choosing when it’s convenient, as it seems, is leaving windows open for misunderstanding amongst players as to what they can and cannot do on the field, which can cause serious mess-ups. Should the touchdown celebration last ten seconds or five seconds? Is a player allowed to accidentally trip another player in a tackle or trash talk their opponent before running a play? There is no true answer to these questions if these rules aren’t being implemented accurately.
Listen, I get it. When you are playing a game that is as intense as football, there is a tendency for adrenaline and emotions to run high. Things are said and done that aren’t exactly pleasant, but that is the game; there are tackles and rival tension between players, just to mention some. For me, as long as both teams can shake hands at the end of the game and support each other’s endeavors — despite team rivalries or different positions or styles — then that is the mark of true sportsmanlike conduct, and anything other than that should be deemed unsportsmanlike.
Photo: S. Schuh
