If liberals shaken by the Trump dance craze spreading throughout the NFL turn to the league to stop the trend, they won't find the help they seek.
According to Front Office Sports (FOS), the NFL has “no issues” with the celebration and has no plans to cancel it.
“We have no problem with a celebratory dance like the one we had yesterday or last week against the 49ers on Nov. 10,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy told FOS. As for television coverage, McCarthy added, “It's up to each network to report on it as they see fit.”
In other words, the league won't tell players not to dance or tell broadcast partners not to show them.
What's the difference between Trump dancing and Joey Bosa wearing a MAGA hat, failing an interview, and getting fined?
The difference is that the NFL allows touchdown celebrations and has no restrictions as long as they are not overly profane or sexual. However, the league also has rules prohibiting the wearing or display of hats or clothing that express personal or political opinions. Bosa is now in a situation where he can wear a MAGA hat, but not be fined for doing a MAGA dance, as he did on November 10th.
Since then, other NFL players have been “doing the Donald,” including Brock Bowers, Nick Bosa, Za'Darius Smith, Malcolm Rodriguez, and Calvin Ridley.
If the NFL had tried to limit the Trump dance celebration, it would have had a hard time explaining, not only would it have been in the crosshairs of the next president, but he would have undoubtedly used that platform to blow up the league. The move was understandable considering their near-total inaction in response to the Kaepernick protests that swept the league from 2016 to 2018.
Not only does the Trump Dance not disrupt the game or violate other league rules regarding profanity or vulgarity, it is also not overtly political. Kaepernick's protests, on the other hand, were clearly political and were clearly done for political reasons.
The league has done everything possible to avoid criticism from President Trump. Michael McCarthy from FOS memo“Mr. Trump's NFL bashing at the time may have contributed to the league's 8% and 10% viewership declines in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, respectively.”
