The NFL did indeed fine Saints QB Derek Carr $14,069 for his Michael Jackson tribute last week vs. the Cowboys pic.twitter.com/JrFVxP2Cpw
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) September 21, 2024
This isn’t a good look for the NFL. The league has gotten millions of views promoting Derek Carr’s touchdown celebration against the Dallas Cowboys on social media, complete with an explanation for why he paid tribute to the late “King of Pop” Michael Jackson. Then the NFL thanked the New Orleans Saints quarterback for creating this highlight reel moment with a $14,069 fine.
On TikTok alone the clip has been viewed more than 267,000 times. It’s created even more engagement on Instagram with more than 1.6 million views. It’s since spread far and wide across the Internet as evidence that this 2024 Saints team is different from what fans have had to watch in recent years. And, sure, it’s a great clip. In his postgame press conference Carr joked that he borrowed Jackson’s choreography to remind his kids and younger teammates that he has some dance moves.
At the same time, the people issuing fines from the league office in New York are not the same people editing videos to post online every Sunday. Of course they’re going to react differently when a player grabs his crotch after scoring a touchdown and laughs about it after the game. But that doesn’t make this any less hypocritical. Company policy should be standard across departments. Either outlaw gestures like this (Carr wasn’t penalized for it during the game, by the way) or let it slide and get those clicks, reactions, and impressions online. Not even the NFL should get to have its cake and eat it too.
