Bears' Safety Tashaun Gipson Fined By NFL As Taunting Penalties Worsen
The abundancy of taunting penalties continued past week two of the NFL season. The league fined several players for doing just that in last week's NFL action. Amongst those players is Chicago Bears' safety Tashaun Gipson during their win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The NFL fined Tashaun Gipson over $10,000 for taunting.
Discussions across the league have many people outspoken about these taunting penalties. 'What did they do' is often associated with the NFL's latest controlled variable. As described in the tweet above, Tashaun Gipson stood over a player and clapped. This isn't the worst thing in the world but it's also not the worst example either.
In the same game, Bengals' safety Von Bell 'briefly got in a player's face' and drew a taunting penalty. The NFL is seriously cracking down on something that is being drastically overblown.
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Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
The NFL fined Chargers tight end Jared Cook a similar $10,000 for taunting as well. The crime Cook committed was spinning a ball near another player's foot. These taunting penalties are growing more egregious every week.
As the Bears look ahead to the Cleveland Browns, they must be wondering what is coming next. If the league continues to punish these players for slights as tame as this, then teams are in for a rough ride for a while. These taunting penalties are plaguing the entire league so this isn't a localized incident. Who will get fined next? Did the league get this wrong on these flags or are the referees just calling everything in sight? Either way, the Bears cannot afford any flags killing any momentum they might have.
