The National Football League has been cracking down on celebrations of a specific type in 2024, and now, a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been fined for doing it.
The NFL is particularly cracking down on celebrations that it refers to as using "violent gestures" — this has particularly been used to go after players who mime firing firearms or shooting bows, with quite a few players — like the Atlanta Falcons' Drake London and the Indianapolis Colts' Josh Downs — getting penalized and potentially fined for it.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played the Falcons last Thursday, and during that game, defensive tackle Vita Vea got a sack and celebrated by crawling on the ground and miming firing a sniper rifle. Vea wasn't penalized for it at the time, but the NFL announced that they are fining him $14,069 dollars for making the gesture.
The NFL fined #Bucs NT Vita Vea $14,069 for unsportsmanlike conduct/violent gesture — his sniper celebration last week. pic.twitter.com/R3WVyMkP9D
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 12, 2024
This has been a controversial new NFL focal point, and Vea's fining for making the gesture is somewhat ironic — he plays at Raymond James Stadium, and when the Bucs score at home, the team's pirate ship fires cannons in celebration, which is a violent gesture the NFL seems to permit. Regardless, with this much money at stake, Vea is likely to choose a different celebration the next time he gets a sack.
