Taunting is the "newest" worst penalty in the NFL

The 2021-22 NFL season is about to be one of the leagues weirdest seasons ever; from being a now 17-game season to having 2 bottom teams from both the AFC and the NFC sneaking into the playoffs. the worst thing about this season so far is the "taunting" penalty as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will make up new rules, causing the outcome of games being unfair. this isn't just him however, there were rumors of referees manipulating the outcomes in games for TV ratings as this was happening when Roger Goodell became commissioner back in 2006. the NFL is at a pivotal point where their product is going downhill and viewers are lurking in the other direction by turning the channel.

Overview

When it comes to playing in the NFL, each player on all 3 phases of the ball (offense, defense, special teams) got to have two particular traits, physicality and toughness. Some of the leagues best players past or present (particularly on offense or defense) have shown the capability of having both of these traits over the course of their careers from throwing passes to receiving touchdowns to getting multiple carries to generating sacks to creating turnovers to winning games from great coaching. sometimes, the NFL could get soft if there is too much toughness and physicality going on at the same time. too much physicality and toughness can also generate penalties (a.k.a. Too Many FLAGS). the most recurring penalties in today's NFL as well as back in it's heyday are holding, personal foul (depending on the situation), offsides, and the least but rarest unsportsmanlike conduct. none of these penalties are compared to the newest "taunting" penalty as the NFL would get worse by the day as many viewers would turn away from watching the product because of favoritism and unfairness.

What is Taunting?

Taunting is a careless method that is normally used in sports as a way for one team player to constantly mock another team player either from their own team or the opposing team; this is also a form of non-verbal "trash talk" as gestures are used instead of teammates getting into each other's faces, though this could happen often when players tend to gain heat from one another. the use of taunting could cause a player to be ejected or benched for the rest of the game (particularly in basketball, American football, and soccer). taunting isn't just used in sports, but in real-life situations within reality, this is a smaller form of bullying. the bully normally teases a person who isn't strong enough to get heat to fight back.

If taunting isn't this bad, why the NFL is making this as a legal "penalty"?

This uproar of taunting all started during Super Bowl LV on February 7th this year when Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was gesturing Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill by the use of his signature peace sign, in which he does often during regular season games. Winfield was also responsible for one of the two game-sealing interceptions (the other being Bucs LB Devin White) that helped the Bucs win their first Super Bowl since the Gruden-Dungy era in 2002. in proceeding to throwing the peace sign in Hill's face, later in an interview, he says that "it felt amazing". Winfield was then handed a fine that was $7,815; all of this for a Chiefs receiver that's literally was one of the most elusive and fastest receivers in the modern era to be scared to take a little heat.

Fast forward to this season where taunting was quietly inserted into the handbook (lack of evidence is yet to prove it). so far, some players were flagged way to much just for taunting as most viewers didn't know that taunting was officially a penalty; that was until Monday Night Football during week 9 when the Chicago Bears took on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field.

The first image shown in the article clearly shows the controversial moment when Bears linebacker Cassius Marsh accidentally bumped into NFL official Tony Corrente. then Corrente proceeds to pull out his penalty flag (yellow) and threw it out of frustration, believing that Marsh inadvertently hip-checked the referee (in which he did), but it wasn't intentional. this penalty gave the Steelers an automatic first down and driving the ball downfield to score points. the Bears would try to make a miraculous comeback just for kicker Cairo Santos to miss a field goal that was nearly a "doink" as the Steelers would win 29-27.

This wasn't just the only game this happened in. this also happened on Monday Night Football during week 4 where the Las Vegas Raiders were defeated by the Los Angeles Chargers 14-28 where Raiders TE Darren Waller was penalized for taunting and also during week 6 on Thursday Night Football where the Buccaneers took on the Eagles and won this game 28-22 where Eagles LB Genard Avery was penalized for taunting Bucs running back Leonard Fournette, which gave the Bucs an automatic first down and costing the Eagles to get a win by one touchdown and one field goal.

There is no conclusion, This is just FACTS:

Roger Goodell, you should be ashamed of yourself for inserting taunting as a legal penalty in this organization. it's a shame that most players won't even noticed that they're being flagged on every play for the slightest of any small situation, whether that player is on offense, defense or special teams. Its taunting in the NFL handbook? obviously not because the front office has not informed any of the 32 teams about this penalty; instead, taunting should only be notified as a "warning". if this keeps up, The National Football League would price out die hard football fans regardless of what team record their teams hold. The NFL would rather focus on woke "Inspire Change" and social justice with an athlete who isn't even employed than help the current athletes and coaching staff about certain situations in regarding football.