The NFL placed an increased emphasis on enforcing taunting penalties last season, and the change was not a welcome one among fans, players and many coaches. Unfortunately, it does not sound like anything will be different in 2022.
Rich McKay, the president of the Atlanta Falcons and chairman of the NFL Competition Committee, shared some news about the taunting emphasis on Friday that fans are not going to like. He said there has been no negative feedback on the NFL’s taunting rules, which means they are likely to remain unchanged.
NFL competition committee chair Rich McKay says they’ve heard no feedback from clubs, coaches subcommittee or the NCAA that the league should be back off on sportsmanship: “It is paramount to the integrity of our game.”
Expect the taunting crackdown to continue in 2022.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 25, 2022
It’s almost impossible to believe no one expressed opposition to the way the taunting rule was officiated last season. We saw numerous instances where seemingly harmless trash talk drew a 15-yard penalty. In some cases, those calls directly impacted the outcome of games.
Former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, who was on the Competition Committee, said last season that he believed the taunting emphasis had gone too far. Mike Tomlin, another member of the committee, changed his stance at one point after initially supporting it.
At the end of the day, players and coaches are going to have to adjust. The taunting emphasis is obviously here to stay, whether it makes the game less fun or not.
Photo: Apr 29, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announces the final pick of the 2021 NFL Draft for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at First Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
