In an attempt to drain all personality and bombast from the league, the NFL has banned the goalpost dunk. Starting with the 2014 season, players who dare to dunk will be hit with a 15-yard penalty, according to the Washington Post. Some sports fans and commentators trace the ban back to New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham. The hang time on his touchdown dunk last November in a game against Atlanta bent the Georgia Dome goal post — and delayed the game. (Watch the video below.)The no-dunk ruling from NFL’s head of officiating Dean Blandino joins a long list of no-no celebrations that can earn a flag for “unsportsmanlike conduct." The list already bans dancing, spinning or doing almost anything with or to the football besides running with it. Will post-touchdown cheering with teammates be next? — M.C.
NFL spikes the dunk
Republish Article
You can republish articles in print or online. Simply copy the HTML below, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline, and credit to Cascade PBS. Republishing of the photos or videos embedded in an article can occur only if the photo or video is a copyright of Cascade Public Media ("CPM") and not of a third party. Photos and videos that are a copyright of CPM are not required to appear in the republished article, but if they are used, they must be embedded where they appear in the original article and must include the attribution to the CPM photographer.
- You may reprint in any medium
- You may edit only for tense and timeliness
- If republishing in print you can edit for length if you follow our print republishing guidelines.
- You may write your own headline
- Include a byline and shirttail with credit and link to Cascade PBS
- Include our tracking pixel
- Remove if we ask
Our members' donations make local journalism happen.
Support once for $1
Support monthly for $7
- Cascade PBS Passport
- Mossback members-only newsletter
- Monthly Viewer Guide
Support monthly for $25
- Invitation to quarterly news and original programming video conference
- Annual in-person meet-up with news & programming teams
- Special event perks (reduced price or free tickets, cocktails, etc.)
By Mary Bruno
Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,
Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,