As the number of firearms celebrations in the NFL increases, so do the penalties and fines

You've seen this before. A player catches the ball hard or runs for a first down or touchdown. He jumps up, holds out his hand, sticks out his index finger and raises his thumb to create an imaginary gun. Generally, “shots” fall down the field, in no particular direction. However, flags are still flown for unsportsmanlike conduct, which carries a 15-yard penalty.

The NFL is sending the message that after eight penalties and fines issued to players for such celebrations in the first four weeks of the season, no more gun violence. On Sunday, two more players were penalized for using firearms, which the NFL considers a violent gesture. Penalties for Week 5 will be announced on Saturday afternoon.

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London drew a flag and was fined for the gesture in week two. In Week 3, New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers received roughing penalties twice. Two fines totaling $14,069 were subsequently assessed. Five players — Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb, New Orleans Saints defensive backs Marshon Lattimore and Alontae Taylor, New York Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard and Washington Commanders running back Jeremy McNichols — were penalized in Week 4 for celebrating.

For these eight violations, players were fined an average of $12,697.50. Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosiwas also was flagged and fined for unsportsmanlike conduct in Week 2, when he pantomimed a bow and arrow for a touchdown on the field. The Kansas City Chiefs appealed the $5,305 fine and won.

Indianapolis Colts receiver Josh Downs earned a downfield penalty in Week 5, just as Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton did. However, Lamb and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster were not punished for celebrating a first down with similar gestures in last week's games, although that does not rule out possible fines.

Slayton noticed a discrepancy in X's tenure.

It's cool when they do it https://t.co/dOX1kb0Qap

— Darius Slayton (@Young_Slay2) October 8, 2024

The NFL's unsportsmanlike conduct policy is as follows:

Unsportsmanlike conduct is unacceptable. This applies to any act contrary to the generally understood principles of sports competition. Such actions include, but are not limited to: (a) Punching, forearming or kicking an opponent, even if no contact has occurred. (b) Using abusive, threatening or offensive language or gestures towards opponents, team members, officials or League officials. (c) Using taunts or taunts or words that may cause ill will between teams. (d) Any violent gestures or acts of a sexual or offensive nature.

London said he regretted his celebration, which imitated firing a machine gun into the air. Three days earlier, the Falcons hosted the football team from Apalachee High School in Georgia, where two students and two teachers were killed in a Sept. 4 shooting.

It may seem like a sudden response, but NFL and team officials, as well as players in leadership positions in the NFLPA, say the league's reluctance to do so is nothing new. The NFL has a long-standing rule that discourages players from making any violent gestures on the field. In addition to firearms, this includes throat cutting and gang insignia. In 2022, the league fined 13 Pittsburgh Steelers players between $4,715 and $13,261 for choreographing an interception celebration resembling a machine gun. In 2023, Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson and tight end David Njoku were both fined $13,569 for: Gun-themed celebration. These are just two examples from previous seasons.

The NFL and the NFL Players Association are jointly negotiating an on-field code of conduct for all players. penalties, according to NFL rules, “are distributed to the Professional Athletes Foundation to support legends in need, and to the NFL Foundation to further support the health, safety and well-being of athletes at all levels, including youth football and the communities that support the game.”

Two NFL player development directors said the penalties and fines are not a new initiative or a point of emphasis for the league, which has stifled years of ridicule in recent seasons. Instead, they said, players just started celebrating finger guns with greater frequency.

One senior league official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not want to comment on any specific incident, said players are warned every year that such gestures will result in penalties and fines. Each year, the league shows players a video instructing them on acceptable and unacceptable forms of celebration. The NFL rulebook, which is handed out to each player each year, also prohibits all gun salutes.

One league official said that as such celebrations have become popular at high school and college games, the NFL has seen an increasing influence on its own games.

Among the violent gestures spotted across college football this season: Last week, South Carolina defensive back Dylan Stewart mimicked machine-gunning Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart while the quarterback was still on the ground recovering from a sack by Stewart. In Week 1, after LSU's first touchdown of the season, wide receiver Kyren Lacy pretended to shoot at the USC defense.

“We're starting to see, I hate to say it, more and more,” Steve Shaw, the NCAA's national coordinator of officials, told the Associated Press earlier this week. “We just want to say this is unacceptable. Gun violence is unacceptable in our game.”

Many NFL staffers follow all aspects of the youth game, and the league is diligent in getting its message across to younger audiences. Due to the celebrity status of its players, the NFL is trying to limit violent gestures during the game and hopes that recent penalties and fines will quickly force players to make changes.

As a second high-ranking NFL official said when asked about the matter: “It's non-negotiable. Find another way to celebrate.”

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