Mike Tomlin calls out refs for bogus taunting call on Steelers during blowout loss

In a blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the refs called Steelers wideout Ray-Ray McCloud for a taunting penalty. Mike Tomlin wasn’t thrilled.

While McCloud did celebrate after the play in a bizarre decision given the scoreline, it was hardly a taunt of the Chiefs. If anything, McCloud just wanted something to celebrate in an otherwise depressing performance for the Steelers.

Now, whether McCloud should have been celebrating is an entirely different question, and the majority of fans would lean no. But taunting? Come on.

From the replay, it looks as though L’Jarius Sneed just happened to be in McCloud’s way as he pointed.

Mike Tomlin disagrees with taunting call on Steelers

“I categorically disagreed with it. I thought that Ray Ray was signaling first down, and he turned around to do so and the guy just happened to be there. I think we have to exercise some common sense,” Tomlin said.

Tomlin did go on to say that he’s fine with the league’s crackdown on taunting as a whole. For instance, when Chase Claypool was called for taunting earlier in the year in a blowout loss to Cincinnati, he was rightly benched for his decision.

But if players are not allowed to celebrate whatsoever, then it takes personality out of the game itself. Do we really want that? In an era of player empowerment and self-advertising, taking celebration and personality out of the game goes against its very fabric, and limits the NFL’s ability to take advantage of it financially, which is what really matters to the owners.

Tomlin wasn’t happy with the call on McCloud, sure. But there ought to be more uproar with how the NFL is treating its athletes like replacement players.