New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton is the latest player in the league to be penalized for a finger pointing celebration so far this season.
Slayton, after hauling in a deep 41-yard catch in the second half of their matchup with the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon, stood up and celebrated the first down by outstretching his arms and pointing his fingers downfield.
Almost immediately, though, Slayton was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Officials, it seems, interpreted Slayton’s celebration as if he was pretending to shoot a gun with his hands — which has become a point of emphasis across the NFL this season.
So Slayton’s celebration moved the Giants back 15 yards, cutting into his big gain. It didn’t end up costing them much, however, as Slayton caught a 30-yard touchdown pass two plays later to put the Giants back up by a touchdown at Lumen Field.
Slayton’s finger pointing looked much more like a traditional first down celebration than him shooting a gun, but it’s easy to see why officials interpreted it that way — especially after how he moved his arms up at the end. New York Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard was hit with the same penalty last week in their loss to the Denver Broncos after he flashed a very clear double gun celebration after making a catch. He was fined more than $14,000 as a result.
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London was fined for his “violent gesture” in their win over the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this season, too. London acted as if he was shooting a gun into the air after he made a touchdown catch in that game, which he quickly apologized for after the game. The Falcons had hosted the football team from a Georgia high school that recently had two students and two teachers killed in a mass shooting days before that contest, too.
“There’s a lot of stuff going around in the world with gun violence that I don’t think I should have displayed there,” London said last month. “So, I’m not too happy with it and [you] probably won’t see that again from me.”
While Slayton’s was the most subtle of the three, he’s sure to see a similar fine from the league in the coming days as a result.