Antoine Winfield’s fine for taunting Tyreek Hill looks silly

It’s no secret that the NFL has a major rules problem when it comes to the silly things it decides to enforce on one side and the inability to keep players safe on the other side. From its stance on marijuana to the number of flags thrown in Super Bowl LV, the league will always hear from frustrated fans who are unsatisfied with the way it handles any number of issues.

One bit of silliness that should be thrown out, however, is fining players for taunting one another on the field. The latest example can be found in Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield, who was fined over $7K by the NFL for taunting Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill late in the team’s victory in Super Bowl LV.

In case you don’t remember the incident (or really, you more than likely just blocked it out), the incident looked like this:

Now, is the incident wrong on the field at the time? Yes. Sportsmanship is a real thing and teams should be penalized in the moment, which the Bucs were at the time. It was a 15-yard penalty, which could have meant something to a team that wasn’t down by 20 points or more.

Beyond that, however, it’s silly to keep rapping the knuckles of players several days after the game. The NFL’s ability to fine players for taunting is just asinine, since most gestures are emotional bursts in the moment of heightened competition. Any player’s ability to garner a sack, generate a big hit, break up a major play, or score a touchdown means that player has done so against elite competition. It makes sense that adrenaline is flowing and emotions run hot.

Just several weeks earlier, Tyreek Hill torched the Bucs for a season-high 269 receiving yards in a Week 12 win in the first matchup between both teams on the season. That game included this little clip:

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1333172506782478338

That’s likely the reason that Winfield was so excited. The Bucs were embarrassed the first time around, and specifically, they were embarrassed by that very player. Then, in the biggest game of the year, Winfield and the Bucs defense had held that same player to minimal impact while embarrassing their opponent in the rematch. Most of us would find ourselves excited to “return the favor” in that instance.

Of course, that doesn’t make it right, but there are penalties for things that are “unsportsmanlike.” To go beyond that and force a player to pay very real money several days later is just dumb. You can believe the gesture was childish (it was), and that Winfield should exhibit better judgment (he should), but it’s also true that it’s fun to root for those sorts of charismatic players when they play for your team. It’s Travis Kelce on a key drive or Chris Jones getting a timely sack. The Chiefs have “characters” of their own and their personalities are what make them so magnetic.

You don’t have to like Winfield or even his gesture to also dislike the fine. The NFL just feels too much like a hall monitor in instances like this and they have better things to worry about—even in the offseason.