NFL's Standard for Taunting Penalties to Largely Remain in Place, Troy Vincent Says

The NFL won't make significant changes to its current standard for what constitutes a taunting penalty. 

Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of football operations, addressed the topic while speaking to reporters Tuesday. 

"We have to stand on sportsmanship," Vincent said. "That was universally in agreement. ... But there are areas we need to clean up."

Per ESPN's Kevin Seifert, the 61 taunting flags during the 2021 season were "most in at least two decades of league play" based on the NFL's internal review. 

Seifert noted 56 of those 61 flags were "attributed to acts the NFL will continue to legislate, a list that includes standing over and/or pointing to opponents, as well as moving toward an opponent's bench."

Rich McKay, the NFL's competition committee chairman, told reporters in April 2021 that the league was putting an emphasis on taunting penalties after a number of coaches expressed concern the enforcement had gotten "too lax."

There was criticism over the plays that were called for taunting this past season. 

Last November, The Ringer's Rodger Sherman wrote about the five most egregious taunting calls so far that season. The list included Chicago Bears linebacker Cassius Marsh staring at the Pittsburgh Steelers bench during a Monday night game and New York Giants fullback Elijhaa Penny signaling a first down in the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

According to Vincent, a group that included the competition committee, the general manager advisory council and the coaches subcommittee agreed that only five of the 61 taunting calls should not be called for penalties in the future. 

Per the league's official rulebook, taunting is described as "the use of baiting or taunting acts or words that engender ill will between teams."

The NFL adopted the current taunting rule before the start of last season. Any potential changes to the rule would have to be brought to the competition committee before being taken to the team owners for an official vote.