The Penalty Bigger than Kaepernick

The Rule That Could Break the NFL in a Way That Flag Kneeling Couldn’t

We may actually be witnessing the beginning of the end of the sports entertainment dominance of NFL football. It’s not due to the attitudes, the salaries, or the protests of the players. It’s not directly due to ticket prices or hero worship or the criminal misconduct that seems to accompany celebrity. The greatest current threat to the NFL is one single rule.

“With each questionable flag that’s thrown, die-hard NFL fans see the one thing they actually fear the most: the loss of the integrity of the game.”

What Changed?

In the off-season preceding the 2018–2019 NFL season, the league decided to increase the scope and impact of the rules protecting quarterbacks from damage sustained during sacks or immediately following the release of a pass. According to the new rule, the “unsportsmanlike conduct” offense of “roughing the passer” now includes both driving the quarterback forcefully into the ground and landing on top of the quarterback with the tackler’s full body weight.

This new expansion of the rule, when combined with the existing “hands to the head” rules…