Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Justin Jefferson gets fined for touchdown celebration

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Rob Leeds | Last updated Dec 30, 2023 11:32 PM ET

There are a lot of things you can do to celebrate a touchdown or a big play in the NFL.

There are also plenty of things in the NFL you can't do to celebrate those plays.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson just learned the hard way that his recent celebration of flashing a gun after scoring a touchdown against the Lions is unacceptable. Is that really a surprise?

The NFL fined #Vikings WR Justin Jefferson $13,659 for unsportsmanlike conduct after his TD last week.

It’s apparently for Jefferson making a brief, gun-like signal at the camera here, violating Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1(d)
with a “violent gesture.” pic.twitter.com/3azdLW5ARx
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 30, 2023

Writing it out may make it seem worse than it really was. The whole celebration took the better part of 30 seconds and the "gun" gesture was only one instant. Either way, it still happened, and the fine seemed all but ensured from that moment.

The play was great and the mistake was brief, but flashing a gun at a camera is an obvious mistake in any sport at the moment.

This isn't a new mistake or focal point either for a league like the NFL.

Professional sports have been trying to distance themselves from celebrations like this while condoning rampant gun violence in the United States for some time, and while this may seem small considering it was finger guns and obviously not meant in a violent manner as stated by the NFL, we all still knew that this was going to happen.

Let's call this for what it is; a little ticky-tacky, but it is a violation of the rules. Learning experiences happen for everyone-even stars like Justin Jefferson. It stings, but you can bet this probably won't happen again.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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