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By Sam Neumann on

Al Michaels had the perfect description for the NFL’s taunting obsession during Thursday night’s Seahawks-Cardinals game. After watching Kenneth Walker III get flagged for basically nothing, the veteran broadcaster said the league has turned taunting into a “felony.”

He isn’t wrong.

The penalty came in the second quarter when Walker ran for three yards. After the tackle, Cardinals defensive back Kei’Trel Clark grabbed Walker’s foot and shoved him. Walker pointed at Clark and tossed the football his way. Flag. Fifteen yards. Seattle went from third-and-short to punting.

“The league put an emphasis on taunting a couple of years ago,” Michaels said. “They turned it into a felony. 15 yards.”

“Good way of saying it,” Kirk Herbstreit added.

What Walker did was hardly egregious. The Michigan State product didn’t stand over anyone or make threatening gestures. He was responding to getting his leg grabbed after the play. But Seattle still lost 15 yards and eventually had to punt.

This is the NFL in 2025. The league expanded its crackdown on taunting this season after officials reported that unsportsmanlike gestures increased by 133% last year. Now they’re flagging everything. Fox’s Greg Olsen called out a similar penalty against Rams receiver Puka Nacua last weekend for spinning the ball and flexing after a catch. Olsen said it didn’t violate “the spirit of the rule.”

What spirit? The NFL has already banned throat slashes, gun gestures, and sexually suggestive acts, which makes sense. But Walker’s penalty shows how officials are interpreting these rules. Any emotional response is apparently fair game.

Michaels stayed consistent later when Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba got caught on a hot mic calling a holding penalty “bullsh*t” right in front of the referee. “Just a misdemeanor this time,” Michaels, who has looked rejuvenated this season after years of seeming disinterested on Thursday nights, said.

The NFL continues to say it wants players to celebrate and show their personality. Then, they flag Walker for having the audacity to react after being provoked. Seattle had to punt because their running back tossed a football.

Michaels called it a felony because that’s exactly what this feels like — the league criminalizing normal human reactions and pretending it makes football better. It doesn’t. It just makes the game feel smaller.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann