The New England Patriots led the Kansas City Chiefs 17-14 in the third quarter on Thursday when Alex Smith found rookie Tyreek Hill for a 75-yard touchdown scamper that helped changed the momentum of the game, one ultimately won by the Chiefs.
As he ran towards the end zone, Hill put up to fingers in a peace sign to let the Patriots’ defenders know he was peacing out on them.
Catch the 🐆 if you can. (Spoiler: you can't) https://t.co/eBqfyzJ6oj
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 8, 2017
Given all the kinds of taunts that the NFL has seen over the years, it was a pretty tame one. In fact, the official NFL highlight video played up the peace sign as part of their promotion and the league’s Twitterfeed promoted the peace sign pretty positively.
✌️✌️✌️ @ImFasterThanYa #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/DuxgPOOhJ3
— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2017
It's 🐆 SZN pic.twitter.com/e7U8CplRYg
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 8, 2017
So while no one would think that Hill, was deserving of any kind of flag for the benign gesture, Pro Football Talk is reporting that, actually, he should have been.
As one source with extensive knowledge of the league’s rules told PFT, Hill directed the gesture at an opponent, so it should have been a foul for taunting.
PFT says that the NFL might fine Hill next week for the gesture, even though no penalty was called (the closest official was looking right at him the whole time).
The league recently changed its celebration rules to make them more relaxed when it comes to premeditated or choreographed celebrations, going to the ground, or using the ball as a prop. While violent imagery is still illegal, there’s certainly nothing violent about a peace sign. However, because of Hill’s intentions, he might still feel the brunt of the league.
You could make a pretty good common sense case that Hill’s taunt was fairly tame and doesn’t deserve judgment, but then again when was the last time you thought the NFL used common sense to make a decision?
