BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) – NFL owners have approved as a one-year trial ejecting a player who draws two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties from specific categories.
Those categories include throwing a punch at or kicking an opponent; taunting; and using abusive, threatening or insulting language or gestures.
“Sportsmanship is important to the membership,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday as the owners’ meetings concluded. “We all have standards. They have two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties before they’re ejected. The message from the membership, our clubs and the coaches is they’re going to be held to those high standards.”
Also approved Wednesday as a one-year trial was placing the ball at the 25-yard line after touchbacks on kickoffs instead of at the 20. The league is seeking ways to reduce injuries on kickoff returns, which it says statistically are the most dangerous plays in the game.
Most proposals on expanding video replay in officiating were dismissed. A suggestion by Baltimore that would simplify the language in replay rules to make clearer what is reviewable has been tabled.