According to the full rules report sent to NFL teams this week, the “nose wipe” celebration is now a 15 yard penalty for being a “violent gesture”.
“Any violent gesture, a throat slash, simulating firing or brandishing a gun, or using the “nose wipe” gesture, or an act that is sexually suggestive or offensive.”
Every year, the NFL introduces a new rule that leaves us scratching our heads. According to reports, this time it’s not a Tush Push ban — but instead, a 15-yard penalty for a harmless celebration.
Per the official rules report sent to every team this week, a “nose wipe” celebration will now be flagged as a 15-yard penalty for being deemed a “violent gesture.”
Make it make sense.
NFL taking all the fun out of the sport
This is just so unbelievably stupid. I’m trying to put myself in the shoes of the NFL’s rules committee to understand their reasoning, but for the life of me, I can’t.
Why even waste time trying to regulate this? There are certainly more important things this committee could focus on. Does Elon Musk and his team of 19-year-olds need to swoop into NFL offices to clean house? At this rate, it feels like they might have to.
Off the top of my head, I don’t think any Eagles players do this celebration regularly. A.J. Brown may have done it a few times, and I remember Miles Sanders doing it a lot, but other than that, our team seems pretty much in the clear.
Still, this is just dumb. It feels like the NFL is making a rule change simply for the sake of making a rule change. Do better.