NFL officials to strictly enforce taunting violations in 2021

Taunting penalties will have bigger repercussions in the NFL going forward.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday that two taunting violations will result in an automatic ejection with fines and suspensions also in play. The updates come from the league's annual rule change and points of emphasis video.

While automatic ejections and fines for taunting aren't new, the issue of taunting is one that competition committee chairman Rich McKay said coaches spoke up about in the spring.

"The NFL Players Association, coaches and competition committee have all made a strong statement regarding respect among everyone on the field," McKay said in the video. "We saw an increase in actions that clearly are not within the spirit and intent of this rule is not representative of the respect to opponents and others on the field. Game officials have been instructed to strictly enforce the taunting rules, and players and coaches are reminded that two taunting penalties committed by an individual player will result in automatic disqualification. In addition, the taunting player may be fined and/or suspended depending on the severity of the actions."

Illegal use of helmet remains a point of emphasis for officials as well, Pelissero adds.

The original article can be found here.