(Video) No fun league? Xavier Worthy gets flagged on Christmas against Steelers for the most bizarre reason ever
Xavier Worthy was called for unsportsmanlike conduct immediately after his touchdown in the end zone on Christmas Day against the Steelers.
Follow Us
Xavier Worthy gets flagged on Christmas (Via A to Z Sports/X)
Just like last Christmas, the Kansas City Chiefs did not get a day of rest on the holiday as they faced off against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But as they did, they opted to make better use of it for another showdown, starting with rookie Xavier Worthy’s touchdown catch in the end zone on the first drive to put the Chiefs into a 6-0 lead.
However, much to everyone’s surprise, Worthy was called for unsportsmanlike conduct immediately after his touchdown. As it turned out, after connecting with quarterback Patrick Mahomes for a seven-yard touchdown catch, Worthy got overexcited and mimicked the fictional character, the Grinch from Christmas.
He and Hollywood Brown playfully acted out a scene where they pretended to take all the gifts from underneath a Christmas tree. However, it was later revealed that the 15-yard penalty imposed on the rookie wide receiver was because of his touchdown celebration where he pretended to holster a gun by lifting his shirt a little.
Due to the league’s strict rules on not allowing any gun-related celebrations, the officials instantly flagged Worthy on Christmas. However, social media did not react too well to the flag, calling it a ‘stupid’ officiating call.
The broadcast just claimed that Xavier Worthy was flagged for pretending to show a gun on his hip after the celebration.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 25, 2024
That makes ZERO sense ?pic.twitter.com/0MrpMokLDV https://t.co/csY7Iev8h6
The Chiefs won the game 29-10 against AFC North’s top-seeded team. Since they secured the victory, they clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 15-1 record, while also chasing the historic three-peat.
Xavier Worthy aside, NFL’s zero-tolerance policy on violent gestures on football field
Initially, it was believed that the young receiver was penalized for his Christmas celebration with teammate Brown. However, the Netflix broadcast clarified that the penalty was due to the referees interpreting his gesture of lifting his shirt as mimicking the holstering of a gun when he aimed at the opponents.
Even though many labeled this flag as unnecessary, it makes sense with the league’s zero-tolerance policy towards encouraging anything remotely resembling violence on the football field by the players. In fact, college football has also adopted this scheme as they penalized a few players for gun celebrations on touchdowns.
The 15-yard penalty pushed back the two-time Super Bowl defending champions for an extra point attempt, leading kicker Harrison Butker to line up for a challenging 48-yard field goal which he apparently missed and took away the Chiefs’ early lead in the game.
Stay Updated!
Pratyusha Srivastava
(2078 Articles Published)