Post by Guvmintcheeze on Sept 30, 2014 16:45:41 GMT
NFL says Husain Abdullah shouldn't have drawn penalty for prayer
As if the NFL wasn't already dealing with other public relations nightmares at the moment.
During Kansas City's blowout win over New England on Monday, Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah picked off Tom Brady and returned it for a touchdown. Abdullah, a devout Muslim, slid to his knees and began to pray. This drew a flag from the officiating crew.
The NFL rules state that a player cannot go to his knees during a celebration, with the lone exception being for religious observance. NFL vice president of football communication Michael Signora stated this on his Twitter account Tuesday.
"Abdullah should not have been penalized," Signora wrote. "Officiating mechanic is not to flag player who goes to ground for religious reasons."
The officiating crew, and the league by default, caught some heat on social media following the play. The Chiefs were winning big by this point so the penalty didn't matter in a football sense.
But let's hope officiating crews in future games aren't so quick to throw the flag out when it becomes clear a player is having a moment with himself and his higher power.
As if the NFL wasn't already dealing with other public relations nightmares at the moment.
During Kansas City's blowout win over New England on Monday, Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah picked off Tom Brady and returned it for a touchdown. Abdullah, a devout Muslim, slid to his knees and began to pray. This drew a flag from the officiating crew.
The NFL rules state that a player cannot go to his knees during a celebration, with the lone exception being for religious observance. NFL vice president of football communication Michael Signora stated this on his Twitter account Tuesday.
"Abdullah should not have been penalized," Signora wrote. "Officiating mechanic is not to flag player who goes to ground for religious reasons."
The officiating crew, and the league by default, caught some heat on social media following the play. The Chiefs were winning big by this point so the penalty didn't matter in a football sense.
But let's hope officiating crews in future games aren't so quick to throw the flag out when it becomes clear a player is having a moment with himself and his higher power.