The NFL has a stigma of being overly harsh when it comes to allowing players to have the ability to wear different cleats or celebrate in planned and premeditated ways. Known as the No Fun League, the NFL has doled out fines and suspensions to players for bringing a new level of fun to the game. Apparently, punishments aren’t just meant for players.
Tyreek Hill Uses Camera from Cameraman
Tyreek Hill scored a touchdown on October 15 in the Miami Dolphins ‘ 42-21 victory over the Carolina Panthers, and, in celebration, grabbed a phone from a man in the back of the endzone. He proceeded to record himself doing a backflip.
The NFL has pulled Cameraman Kevin Fitzgibbons’s credentials and suspended him for the remainder of the 2023 season for his role in Tyreek Hill’s touchdown celebration. In a video released on Monday, Fitzgibbons said, “In Week 6 of the season, Tyreek scored a touchdown in the exact same corner of the end zone that I was filming in. He noticed me and surprised me by grabbing my phone and doing a backflip. It was the coolest moment ever. I ran in the tunnel to send the clip to the NFL.”
Fitzgibbons continued by saying, “The NFL then let me know that I would be suspended for the remainder of the season and possibly for good. They said regardless if I knew the celebration was coming or not, I still had to be disciplined and that I shouldn’t have jumped on the sidelines after the play.
“One of the best moments of my life turned upside-down in a matter of seconds,” Fitzgibbons added.
Tyreek Hill posted on X about the cameraman’s, “I would comment but I could get fined.”
A statement by the NFL said, “We can confirm that the league pulled his gameday credentials for this season. The Dolphins were flagged 15 yards for Hill’s action that included a prop. He was not fined.”
The NFL may have gone too far with this one. It’s one thing to dish out a fine to a player, but to suspend a cameraman over the actions of a player is a bit over the top.
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