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Ryan Clark calls out NFL for taunting rule, compares to college targeting rule

by:Austin Brezina•09/19/21•

AustinBrezina59

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Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images

Former NFL safety Ryan Clark took to social media to call out the NFL for its taunting rules, using college football’s targeting rules as a comparison. As NFL players and fans continue to criticize the league for its new taunting rules, the Seahawks suffered a penalty in the fourth quarter of a tightly contested game on Sunday.

Ryan Clark is done with taunting calls

“The NFL taunting rules are even worse than the college targeting rule and that’s difficult,” Clark shared on Sunday following more and more complaints about the new rule.

Clark, an NFL veteran safety who played 13 season in the league, was the newest voice to echo players’ frustration with the new taunting rules implemented this season.

By using the frequently criticized targeting rule in college football as a benchmark, Clark expressed how unbelievable it was to him that the NFL was messing up a rule worse than the NCAA.

The outcry on Twitter was enough to bring back a nickname that the NFL had hoped was behind them, with “No Fun League” trending on the platform.

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The new taunting rules

The NFL released its annual rule change and points of emphasis video last week. Committee chairman Rich McKay spoke about the change in philosophy in regards to taunting.

“The NFL Players Association, coaches and competition committee have all made a strong statement regarding respect among everyone on the field,” McKay said in the video. “We saw an increase in actions that clearly are not within the spirit and intent of this rule and not representative of respect due opponents and others on the field.”

He continued: “Game officials have been instructed to strictly enforce the taunting rules, and players and coaches are reminded that two taunting penalties committed by an individual player will result in automatic disqualification. In addition, the taunting player may be fined and/or suspended depending on the severity of the actions.”

On3’s James Fletcher contributed to this article.