The NFL’s taunting crackdown was back in the spotlight Sunday, and Meghan Payton wasn’t buying what she saw.
After a wave of unsportsmanlike conduct flags in Week 2, Sean Payton’s daughter and sports reporter took aim at the league’s officiating standards, asking whether the line has been drawn too tight.
“Already 3 taunting calls today. Has the NFL gotten too strict with taunting penalties?” Meghan tweeted.
The most debated of those flags came in the Packers’ Week 2 matchup with the New York Jets, when Green Bay safety Javon Bullard was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after what appeared to be routine post-play chatter. Bullard had made a defensive stop and held his ground before the officials threw the flag for taunting.
New Orleans wide receiver Chris Olave also drew a controversial call on Sunday. After making a catch near the end of the first quarter against Baltimore, he celebrated in front of Marlon Humphrey and was penalized.
Pittsburgh cornerback Jalen Ramsey was flagged as well, getting called in the fifth minute of the Steelers’ Week 2 game against the New England Patriots after Pittsburgh forced a fumble.
The reaction from Meghan Payton also fit a longer-running frustration from her father. Sean Payton, who once served on the NFL Competition Committee, criticized how the taunting rule was being enforced in 2021, saying it was being over-officiated and arguing the inconsistency came from league leadership, not the individual crews on the field.
The league, though, has made its position clear. Officials are being told to keep a close eye on taunting, illegal celebrations and fighting this season, with sportsmanship a major emphasis for the Competition Committee. That message showed up again last month, when the NFL fined the Cowboys and Saints for a fight during a joint practice.
“The Competition Committee has made sportsmanship, including at joint practices, a point of emphasis over the past several years," the NFL said in a statement.
Taunting and illegal celebrations come with 15-yard penalties, and the league’s recent numbers show just how often those calls have been popping up. The NFL had 28 taunting penalties in 2025, up from 21 in 2024 and 18 in 2023. In 2021, that number jumped to 61, the highest total in recent years.
NFL officiating rules analyst Walt Anderson also laid out the league’s view of what players can and can’t do after big moments.
“There are plenty of ways for players to be able to celebrate. And they come up with some very unique and often entertaining ways. So we want them to focus on those and not the inappropriate areas," Anderson said.
The league still wants celebrations, but once those gestures are aimed at opponents or cross into offensive or violent territory, penalties - and sometimes ejections - remain on the table.
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