The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

I find it to be disgraceful that a penalty was called in last night's game.  After intercepting Tom Brady and returning it for a TD, Chiefs' safety Husain Abdullah dropped to his knees and bowed forward, as if in prayer.  He is Muslim...

(http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/1406614/praykc.0.gif)

In a league where everyone cheered Tim Tebow for being such a good Christian and even gave his prayer stance a viral name "Tebowing," to give this guy a 15-yard penalty for "unsportsmanlike conduct" is ludicrous.  I hope the NFL publicly apologizes and the official who called that penalty should be fined.

I think the NFL should have penalized every single player who has dropped to a knee. It's in the rule book you can't celebrate while on the ground.

http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/rulebook/pdfs/15_Rule12_Player_Conduct.pdf

(d) Individual players involved in prolonged or excess
ive celebrations. Players are prohibited from
engaging in any celebrations while on the ground. A c
elebration shall be deemed excessive or
prolonged if a player continues to celebrate after a wa
rning from an official.

 Note 5: Violations of (d) will be penalized if the
y occur anywhere on the field other than the bench are
a.

This official followed the rule book.

yep . .start penalizing christian prayer in nfl games and see how fast the NFL backtracks on that policy

I think they need do away with that rule altogether.  Players should be allowed to celebrate scores in any way they choose that is not offensive.  And seeing as the Constitution guarantees Free Expression and Free Religion, penalizing him for that gesture is a violation of his constituational rights.

The official exception to the "cannot go to the ground during a celebration" rule is prayer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb728sTevNM

sigh .. no .. just no

Beat me to it. I cannot believe how many people misinterpret the Constitution.

As for this exception, I know it exists but it isn't stated in the rules. Also, the player himself has admitted that he did more than kneel in prayer. I did not watch the play but there was also a slide on the ground involved in this prayer/celebration.

The NFL have come out and said it was a mistake. No flag should have been thrown:

"Abdullah should not have been penalized. Officiating mechanic is not to flag player who goes to ground for religious reasons."

https://twitter.com/NFLfootballinfo/status/516942894318383104

He was running and slid to a stop.

(http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--89PJV0SG--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/wdhpptddnsfyivccdkdg.gif)

Abdullah said that (at the time) he believed he was flagged for not coming to a complete stop before prostrating, and said that he will do so in the future.  That being said, since the NFL said he should not have been flagged (https://twitter.com/NFLfootballinfo/status/516942894318383104), the league office apparently didn't think the slide-into-prayer merited a penalty.

Oh yeah, NFL rule book, yada yada yada

(http://www.rantsports.com/nfl/wp-content/slideshow/2012/10/chicago-bears-week-7-report-card/medium/Chicago-Bears-Brandon-Marshall-on-knees.jpg)
(http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/61753875f845b0bea231342653be2aad52c827bc/c=209-0-2682-1865&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2013/10/10/1381462489000-USP-NFL-New-York-Giants-at-Chicago-Bears.jpg)
(http://a.fn.fncdn.com/images/content/getty/comp/67VPYF.jpg)

It was a stupid penalty. With that said I love the fact people still feel Christians are getting away with things others do not.  :o  It's almost illegal to even quote the Bible these days.

It would be interesting to see a player convert to Zion Coptic and after scoring a TD they celebrate by firing up a big ol' joint.  

Without getting thrown into a religious debate, but.... isn't this rather obvious that they are getting away with things that others do not? Hah.

No doubt...or someone sacrificing a live goat in the end zone.

Jimmy Graham should start his own religion, where dunking footballs over goalposts is a form of prayer. Take that, Goodell, you buzzkill bitch!

I don't think what he did was prolonged or excessive.  Furthermore, had he been warned by an official??

I always felt like the "no celebrating on the ground" rule was to prevent snow angels, doing the worm, etc.  I don't consider dropping to a knee, or even two knees, the same as "celebrating on the ground"

Different things. #1 A player is prohibited from celebrating on the ground #2 a celebration is excessive or prolonged if continued after a warning.

I'm fine if the NFL didn't throw a flag but the ref threw one, and did so according to the writing in the rule book. If there is a clarifying factor it needs to be written. Just as I say in baseball, unwritten rules aren't actually rules. Written ones are.

I doubt the NFL re-wrote the rule on illegal contact in 2014 this year; they just told the officials how they wanted that rule interpreted and enforced.  Similarly, the NFL has told the officials that the going to the ground rule shall be interpreted not to apply to prayer.  He went to the ground and prayed, so (by letter of rule) either you give all praying players penalties, or you apply the exception to Abdullah as well.

You can't go to the ground.  It's simple.  Why would prayer be allowed?  How would prayer be protected in the endzone different than doing the worm?

And I think I've stated my position clearly that all players should be penalized. It is the rule and is written as such.

back up further....

Why isn't going to the ground allowed?  Is it any less sportsmanlike to make a snow angel than it is to spike the ball and do the ickey shuffle?  I just don't see why celebrations on the ground are specifically disallowed, while all standing celebrations are perfectly fine.

I hope the NFL retroactively penalizes Brandon Marshall for every TD he celebrated on his knees in the end zone.

I just want them to be able to celebrate however they want so long as they don't destroy anything (ie Goal posts).

The Ickey Shuffle is also not allowed.

Seriously?  That blows.

^^^ Perfect example of how limiting celebrations is not "killing the game" since it wasn't even missed.

Except in the grocery store deli...

"Whooo, gettin' me some cold cuts!!"

Yeah, but they banned that back when he was still playing.  He used to do it in the endzone.  Then he had to do it on the sideline behind his own bench.

yet, years later, Deion Sanders was allowed to do his ridiculous little high-stepping dance after every touchdown as well?

Well, technically, it was before the touchdown was scored.  And as Devin Hester learned against the Bucs the week before last, it will draw a penalty.

He's talking about the other high-stepping dance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNGQ8v4o9W0&t=2m38s

Fuck Deion Sanders and the Dilfer he rode in on...

That's the one...

I just find that the NFL makes "allowances" for superstar players like Marshall and Sanders (and Manning and Brady for that matter), but enforces rules to the letter for everyone else.  It should be consistent across the board.

This is for the public. For what I suspect is usually a private thing the NFL graded this as a correct call in the official's review.

http://www.thescore.com/nfl/news/594172

The union representing NFL on-field officials criticized the league Thursday for inconsistencies in grading calls, including two high-profile penalties from recent games.

In a release, the NFL Referees Association says the NFL has ''caused confusion for NFL officials as to what the league does and doesn't want called.''

The union referred to penalties on Washington's Chris Baker for a hit on Eagles quarterback Nick Foles on Sept. 21, and to Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah last Monday night for going to his knees to celebrate an interception return for a touchdown. Abdullah actually had gone to his knees to pray - an act exempted from celebration penalties.

The union says both calls were graded as correct even after NFL executives announced that they were incorrect. Baker got a 15-yard penalty and was ejected from the game at Philadelphia. Abdullah also received a 15-yard penalty.