NFL stalls on celebration rule change

The NFL decided to put off any changes to the current celebration rule until commissioner Roger Goodell has a chance to discuss it further with players.

Gyrations, simulated archery and other excessive celebration penalties occurred a record-high 30 times this past NFL season and caused unaccounted for friction between fans, players and the league. In response, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is seeking more input from players before stamping out a reformed stance on celebrations, according to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert.

Goodell expressed his position in full while speaking to the media at the conclusion of the 2017 owner’s meeting in Phoenix.

"“I’d like to meet with a group of players to try to get more input from them,” Goodell said, per Seifert. “We also wanted to do a little more work on just bringing clarity to the rule while allowing players more ability to express themselves and celebrate. We want to see that. We obviously want to put [in] any reasonable safeguards against taunting and acts that we think reflect poorly on all of us.”"

The claim comes across as reasonable. At these same owner’s meetings last year the NFL decided to police “choreographed celebrations” more tightly. That’s why Week 1 celebrations such as the coordinated jigs between the Cardinals’ Chandler Jones and D.J. Swearinger or Buccaneers’ Gerald McCoy and Kwon Alexander were flagged, even if they were brief and innocent. Those will likely be allowed going forward. Endzone twerk routine the likes of Steelers’ Antonio Brown in last year’s inaugural Monday Night Football game, however, are sure to remain out of bounds.

To establish the desired clarity on the matter, NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent stated an instructional video would be made available to players.

The news wasn’t received well by some, namely Packers tight end Martellus Bennett. Bennett made his feelings about the possibility of an instructional video crystal clear.

“An educational training video on celebrations? Spend that money on something else like a video on investments or something that will help the players,” Bennett said via Twitter Wednesday night. “Who gives a s–t what guys do when they celebrate. Do something impactful. Y’all wasting guys time with this s–t. Let the players express their individuality and creativity. Y’all gonna make an educational video on how we should talk next?”

Next: U.S. Soccer eyeing another World Cup berth

To be fair, the NFL does have personal finance boot camps every offseason as well as other programs that help players prep for life after football. But to his point about the instructional video, it’s an asinine project. The NFL needs to sit down and hammer out the do’s and don’ts of celebrations, list those specifics for players and send it out in a memo. Dressing it up in a video is not only a waste of money but also allows for further ambiguity to cloud an otherwise meaningless issue.