Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct twice on Sunday, which raised the big question of why he was not thrown out of the game. We now have an explanation.
Pickens was called for his first personal foul after he made a big third-down catch in the first quarter of Pittsburgh’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. After he picked up a first down, Pickens stood over Germaine Pratt and then dropped the ball on the linebacker.
Good: Pickens great catch for 1st down.
Bad: Takes dumbass taunting penalty at the end of the play.
Great: Broderick Jones grabs Pickens and tells him to get his head out of his ass. pic.twitter.com/X9xsakwYJY
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) December 1, 2024
That was not the only time Pickens cost the Steelers 15 yards. The former Georgia star made another big catch in the second half but received an unsportsmanlike conduct foul for making a gun gesture:
George Pickens called for another unsportsmanlike conduct for this celebration. #steelers pic.twitter.com/G8yBc6yYZe
— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) December 1, 2024
So why was Pickens allowed to remain in the game? As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explained, there are different classifications of unsportsmanlike conduct fouls in the NFL rule book. Taunting falls under the umbrella of the type of unsportsmanlike conduct infraction that results in an ejection if a player commits two in a single game. A gun gesture does not, as long as it was not directed toward an opponent.
The NFL has made it a point of emphasis this season to penalize players who do anything resembling a gun gesture. One of the league’s biggest stars was even fined for it recently.
