The NFL announced a new point of emphasis for its officials in the 2025 season, and it has fans very worried.
NFL rules analyst Walt Anderson revealed Thursday that sportsmanship will be a point of emphasis for the league this season, per Mark Maske of the Washington Post. In a separate video, NFL executive VP Troy Vincent suggested that moves such as standing over one’s opponent are more likely to be flagged moving forward.
“There’s no place in the game to be standing over your opponent. There’s no place in the game to have violent gestures. That’s not the game of football,” Vincent said.
The NFL says sportsmanship is a point of emphasis for NFL officials this season. Flags will be thrown.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 21, 2025
"There's no place in the game to be standing over your opponent. There's no place in the game to have violent gestures. That's not the game of football." pic.twitter.com/PtgxsaU5LR
Naturally, this was met with a lot of unease by NFL fans. Many already believe the league is way too harsh toward player celebrations, and the collective fear was that this new directive will only lead to more soft penalties.
Boring AF
— John Frascella (Football) (@NFLFrascella) August 21, 2025
Soft league gonna get even softer, smh
— jaime (@jaime_solis) August 21, 2025
Standing over ur opponent is straight competition. If u don’t want to be stood over then make a play🤦♂️🤦♂️
— Logan Knight (@LoganKnight_22) August 21, 2025
This is not the first time the NFL has tried to crack down on what it sees as excessive taunting. It was not popular then, and it will probably not be popular now.
