The NFL announced recently that it will place a greater emphasis on taunting penalties this season, and we saw a troubling example of that during Sunday’s preseason game between the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts.
Colts running back Benny LeMay had a strong run in the third quarter that went for a first down and then some. He kept his legs churning and carried several defenders with him, and he was understandably fired up about the play. LeMay stood up and appeared to briefly talk trash to a Panthers player, which immediately drew a flag.
Here’s a video of the play:
This is an example of the taunting the league doesn't want to see in games. Just happened in the #Panthers–#Colts game.pic.twitter.com/Tu70GjBxwU
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 15, 2021
Unless LeMay said something incredibly offensive that the official heard, that didn’t seem like enough to warrant a penalty. If officials are going to consistently throw flags for plays like that, it is going to have a huge impact on the game.
Of course, we have seen times in the past where NFL officials emphasize something in the preseason and are then hesitant to call it during the regular season. We can only hope that is the case with the taunting emphasis, though one coach made it clear this week that he doesn’t care if his team taunts a specific opponent.
