This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to my first ever Steelers game for the Sunday night game against Kansas City. While a lot can be said about the performance the Steelers put on during the game after taking a beating at the hands of their cross-state rivals in Philly the previous week, my biggest takeaway was that for the second time this season, Steelers wide-out Antonio Brown was called for a taunting penalty after celebrating his second touchdown in Pittsburgh’s win. While his celebration may have been a little bit on the provocative side for some, calling a penalty on the play, as well as the league fining Brown $25,000, seems a little bit excessive for celebrating a touchdown.

Brown hasn’t been the only one hit by the fines and penalties for celebrating, Washington corner-back Josh Norman was fined $10,000 for celebrating an interception with a fake bow and arrow celebration versus Cleveland. Because of this, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin asked for the league to clarify what would be allowed. I decided to take a look on the NFL Operations website to look for clarification, and see if the league is within their boundaries to fine and penalize players.

“The owners also voted to amend two rules changes to be implemented on a trial basis for one year only. The Competition Committee and the owners will re-examine these rules after the season and determine if they should be made permanent or further modified.

In 2016:

• A player who is penalized twice in one game for certain types of unsportsmanlike conduct fouls will be disqualified. The types of fouls are:

• Throwing a punch or forearm, or kicking at an opponent, even if no contact is made
• Using abusive, threatening or insulting language or gestures toward opponents, teammates, officials or league representatives
• Using baiting or taunting acts or words that engender ill will between teams”

So if there is any positive with this, it is that it could be in effect for only this season. According to the NFL, last year there were 19 taunting penalties called during the 2015 season. Through four weeks in 2016, there have been 13 taunting penalties called. That means the league would be on pace for 52 taunting penalties by the season’s end. While yes, certain things that are defined as taunting should be called as a penalty, it shouldn’t stop a player from celebrating touchdowns or other important plays. Celebrations allow players to express themselves on the field after a great play. If the league continues to fine players for celebrating these big plays, it takes some fun out of the game.

Take another form of expression that has become popular this year in the NFL, kneeling or sitting through the National Anthem. The league could fine players like Colin Kaepernick for kneeling, but has not, and has led to more players following suit in some form in support of Kaepernick and what he’s trying to achieve. This shows that the league is ok with players not observing the National Anthem, but as soon as Antonio Brown wants to celebrate a touchdown, it’s not OK, and met with a hefty fine. While Brown has been quoted as saying, "Nothing to a boss," after the first fine, and, “It's a write-off." after the second fine, the NFL still needs to clearly communicate to the players and coaches what’s OK and what is not so the fines, or any other punishment the league could come up with, start piling up. Stop taking the fun out of the game Roger Goodell and Co., and let’s make the NFL fun again and let everyone celebrate.