For those who are familiar with my articles or listen to me on the Steel City Underground Podcast, you are aware that I try to not condemn officiating unless where necessary. As a referee myself (albeit in another sport) I realize that thankless job officials have in being the “third team” on the field. To cut to the chase, referees are never going to make everyone happy. It’s impossible.

The zebra’s jobs haven’t gotten any easier over the years either. Players are stronger, faster, and better than they were years ago; even year-to-year there are improvements. Sports science and attempting to get that edge is as important as ever.

Don’t believe me? Look at the NFL substance abuse policy, and also see the records which fall each season. Players are getting better while officials… are getting more criticized. They’ve been given very little help. Convoluted rules (such as what defines a catch) and instant replay challenges haven’t helped their cause.

Of course, instead of discussing things which could help the officials better perform on the field (such as making referees full-time employees of the league) the NFL is more concerned about touchdown celebrations.

We're developing an educational training video for players to show clear examples of appropriate and inappropriate celebrations. pic.twitter.com/3yzBxAaQuk

— Troy Vincent, Sr. (@TroyVincentSr) March 21, 2017

This isn’t the Twilight Zone folks. This is reality. The NFL thinks that a training video is going to modify the behavior of the players. It could, but to be brutally honest, change is going to start with the rules. That’s where I thought the NFL was going when I read this tweet several weeks ago:

The idea that The NFL is considering relaxing the celebration penalties for next season is the best thing I've heard all day.

— trey wingo (@wingoz) March 1, 2017

For the moment, it appears the league is more concerned in lecturing athletes about what is right or wrong. If the NFL continues down the path of punishing players for celebrations, they should start with the inconsistency displayed within enforcing their own rules. (Though there is hope coming out of the most recent league meetings that the NFL will relax those celebration penalties – I wouldn’t hold my breath!)

One of the biggest gripes coming out of Steelers Nation last season was a number of penalties Antonio Brown received for celebrating touchdowns. Their object of their frustration should be directed at the men in stripes, and those responsible for handing down the black and white text those referees are to abide by.

Not Brown.

Case in point, I pulled all three instances where AB was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct during the 2016 season. I then compared those celebrations with others; ironically, the two examples shown are from Brown’s former Steelers teammate, and fellow wide receiver, Emmanuel Sanders.

Let’s first define what the NFL rulebook classifies as unsportsmanlike conduct:

Any person (usually a player but occasionally a coach and very rarely one or more spectators) acts or speaks in a manner deemed to be intentionally harmful or especially objectionable by the game officials, or by rule. Unsportsmanlike conduct is a non-contact foul; if contact is involved it becomes a personal foul. Examples include verbal abuse of officials, and taunting, which, since 2004 in the NFL, has included any “prolonged and premeditated celebrations” by players.

The Twerk

“The Twerk” reads like an episode title for Seinfeld, only not as funny when you dig into it.

Fresh off of his appearance on Dancing With The Stars during the offseason, Antonio Brown finds the end zone during the third quarter of Steelers first game of the season.

Brown would be fined $12,154 for what the league described as a “sexually suggestive” end zone dance.

Sanders does the same

In what can only be described as “two wrongs don’t make a right” the NFL ignored this play altogether!

That’s right: no flag, no penalty, nada!

The above touchdown came in Week Three of the season, two weeks following Antonio’s Monday Night Football fine. As you might imagine, social media pounced on the league, and Sanders, for their lack of consistency.

why are Steelers fans so upset I didn't get fined? Lol I don't understand the logic behind wanting a man to get fined for dancing. #ohwell

— Emmanuel Sanders (@ESanders_10) October 1, 2016

So it’s okay now, right?

If you really want a good laugh at the expense (literally) of Antonio Brown, look no further than one week following Sanders’ twerk, when Brown decided to up the ante with a little less “motion in the ocean”.

Not only was the Steelers receiver flagged in this Week Four primetime matchup, he was fined a second time for his celebratory act! This fine would double the previous one, costing “Ronald Ocean” $24,309. I could defend Brown’s actions, seeing as Sanders got away with one earlier in the same day.

Nothing to see here

Sanders “didn’t go to the ground” so his cartwheel was a-okay. Gotcha.

Honestly, could we blame Brown at this point? He should’ve known better, by the flag and fine levied in Week One, to not shake his hips like Elvis, but on the other hand, you have his friend Emmanuel Sanders doing his best AB impression a week earlier, then doing flips hours earlier: with no recourse.

But wait, there’s more!

The inconsistency isn’t only between teams and players. I know I made Sanders the scapegoat, but trust me, there were just as many more flags versus no-flags for similar behavior.

The guessing game of what is appropriate isn’t even consistent for the same teams… or within the same game.

The above clip is from the same Steelers/Redskins game where Brown was fined for twerking. The twerk followed this touchdown celebration, in which AB and WR Eli Rogers celebrated together.

Keep that keyword “together” in mind as you watch, and hear the explanation for this penalty on Thanksgiving Day, when the Steelers played the Colts.

You absolutely have to love Chris Collinsworth, who attempts to justify the flags by saying “anytime it’s choreographed, it’s a flag”.

If only that were true. In the first clip with Rogers and Brown, no flag was thrown. This decision was made from the same officiating crew who then decided the twerking celebration was a penalty.

It’s a shame to point these discrepancies out because one would assume the NFL’s officials are world-class professionals at their job. In fact, the referees in the sample clips are all decorated referees.

• The flag for Sanders’ cartwheel celebration was Jerome Boger, who officiated this year’s Pro Bowl, and was the head referee of Super Bowl XLVII.
• Craig Wrolstad was in charge for the Steelers/Redskins game. Wrolstad is an up-and-coming official who was recently promoted to referee after serving as a field judge; which he worked as during Super Bowl XLVII.
• Walt Coleman is the voice you hear in the final clip. He has officiated two conference championship games and has been selected as an alternate referee for Super Bowls XXXIV, XLII, and LI. Coleman is best known for officiating the “Tuck Rule” game between New England and Oakland.
• John Parry’s crew ignored Sanders’ Week Three twerk. Parry was the head referee for Super Bowl XLVI and the 2015 Pro Bowl. Steelers fans will remember him best for the Wild Card fiasco with the Cincinnati Bengals, where two penalties set the Steelers up for a last-minute game-winning field goal.
• Ron Torbert was the referee for the Steelers/Chiefs game, i.e. “Twerk Numero Dos”. A newer official (2014) I can hardly blame Mr. Torbert for likely following what was no doubt, league directives to stop the “sexual” innuendo (if you want to classify twerking as such).

With the wealth of knowledge and experience among these officials, I’m not sold that an instructional video will correct an emotional outburst at a time where tens of thousands of people are screaming their heads off inside of a stadium. Instead, the league needs to decide what to do. Do they want the initials “NFL” to stand for the “No Fun League”? Or will they become more lenient, allowing the kinds of celebrations we see in soccer games? (Where there is a similar punishment for “excessive celebration” though it is seldom enforced

Or will they become more lenient, allowing the kinds of celebrations we see in soccer games? (Where there is a similar punishment for “excessive celebration” though it is seldom enforced because it is within the “spirit of the game”.)

Ultimately the league must identify what’s acceptable, what’s not acceptable, and disseminate that information to their officials for a consistent experience: not only for fans but for the lifeblood of the league.

The players themselves.

https://twitter.com/MarekJim/status/836320831663898627