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NFL bans throat-slashing gesture
Posted: Wednesday November 24, 1999 07:27 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- The NFL is banning the new fad among NFL players -- the slashing, hand-across-the-throat gesture used to taunt an opponent or celebrate a big play. The league said a letter will be sent Tuesday to the 31 teams, telling them the gesture is no longer acceptable. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said if a player makes such a gesture on the field, it will be deemed taunting or unsportsmanlike conduct and subject to a 15-yard penalty. If done on the bench, the player will be subject to a league fine. Some of the NFL's elite players have been caught on camera making the gesture -- Brett Favre of Green Bay, Warren Sapp of Tampa Bay and Keyshawn Johnson of the New York Jets. Favre was penalized for making the gesture in the face of Detroit's Robert Bailey after throwing a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter Sunday. He said he did so in retaliation for Bailey making the gesture in the first game between the teams. The league said Favre could be fined $2,500 -- standard for a first-time taunting offense. Green Bay coach Ray Rhodes said game film did not show Favre making the gesture, so the team was still considering whether to issue its own fine. "We will be clarifying with the clubs that this gesture is prohibited," Aiello said. "It's a recent phenomenon. We discussed it last week and decided we needed to address it."
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