Enough with the fights and tantrums. NFL must fix sportsmanship problem | Opinion

Tacky behavior needs to stop

Of course, if you’ve been watching closely, you know that I’m not making this stuff up. As indicated by the aforementioned episodes – all from this season and most from the past two weeks – the NFL has a serious sportsmanship problem on its hands.

No, this has not suddenly sprung up like those weeds in your backyard. This stuff has been growing for years and the weed-prevention fertilizer sprayed by the league office – suspensions, fines, warnings – has hardly eradicated all the tacky behavior.

Sure, football is a tough, violent sport with extreme physical toll. Emotions run hot and heavy. Yet incidents that cross the line of respect are becoming too common.

Something has to give before it spins way out of control.

“It’s on all of us,” Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president for football operations, told USA TODAY Sports. “We owe it to the game. Every individual – every player, coach, official – should be afforded dignity and respect as a professional.”

That sounds great. Mindful. Responsible. And easier said than done.

Larger impact of bad behavior in the NFL

I’ve talked to Vincent about these matters of sportsmanship for years, as the league has increasingly cracked down on extra-curricular behavior – always in the rulebook yet enforced with varying degrees of emphasis over the years – which includes fighting, profane language to officials and some celebrations.

And hey, there’s been at least another couple of generations of players come through the not-for-long NFL since Vincent took over his current post in 2014.

Yet for all the emphasis on conduct, which layers on top of safety-inspired rules designed to better protect defenseless players, such efforts too often go by the wayside in the heat of the moment.

Vincent, bless him, is a former Pro Bowl defensive back who is so passionate about the cause in his role that includes overseeing game officials.

“You’ve got to keep a constant reminder of our responsibility to society,” said Vincent, mindful that NFL examples – good and bad – have impact on lower levels of the sport.

“It’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at,” he added. “If you want to be a gang-banger, go back home. If you want to be a street fighter, go back home.”

No, Vincent stresses, the NFL can’t slack up in maintaining standards.

“Whatever you tolerate, you won’t change,” he said.

Ahem.

Players suspended for on-field actions

The NFL suspended two players for one game each for their egregious actions in Week 5. San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw headbutted Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV after tensions flared when he slammed quarterback Sam Darnold to the ground in Seattle’s bench area on Sunday. The next night, Los Angeles Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson punched Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb as players from both teams carried on with the usual postgame mingling following Buffalo’s thrilling overtime win.

On Saturday, the league issued fines to the two players – $4,972 for Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and $6,998 for Jaguars defensive end Bryan Thomas Jr. – ejected for fighting on the opening kickoff at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London last weekend.

And these discipline measures came a week after the league took the rare step of suspending two game officials for their on-field behavior. Referee Adrian Hill was suspended one game for chastising Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson, who seemed to accidentally knock the official to the turf. Line judge Jeff Seeman was pulled off the field for two games for cursing at Cardinals tight end Trey McBride, with the exchange captured on video.

The NFL has suspended referee Jeff Seeman for two games.

Seeman said “F*ck you” to Trey McBride multiple times. pic.twitter.com/xBvAZhFH3b

— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) October 5, 2026

Suspending game officials a rare step for NFL

How rare is it for the NFL to discipline officials in such a manner?

Since 1984, there was only one case of an official being suspended for on-field conduct. That’s more than 40 years. And here are two pulled off the field for actions on the same day.

The NFL Referees Association (NFLRA), which earlier this year negotiated an extension of the collective bargaining agreement with the NFL that includes stricter measures of accountability, vehemently protested the suspensions on the grounds that the punishment isn’t consistent with discipline – or lack thereof – issued to those who verbally abuse officials.

While game officials should be held to a higher standard, the referees union makes a solid point. Too many coaches – especially – are prone to go way over the top with their explosions in protesting calls.

Mike Vrabel, the New England Patriots coach and a member of the league’s competition committee that works closely with the officiating department in administering rules, should know better. Yet in Week 4, Vrabel was flagged by referee Bill Vinovich for unsportsmanlike conduct after profanely protesting a defensive holding call during the game at Buffalo.

“I probably shouldn’t have swore,” Vrabel admitted. “But I can tell you in my history of being on the sidelines as a head coach, I’ve said that.”

No, Vrabel isn’t the only coach to unload on officials. And that doesn’t make it right.

It’s one thing to question a call or demand an explanation, quite another matter to bring it with so much venom and disrespect. If you’ve seen Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and Jets coach Aaron Glenn berate officials this season, you’ve seen other examples of how not to do it.

You’d think the head coaches would be the example of calm reasoning – and there are certainly examples, like Kansas City’s Andy Reid and the Giants’ John Harbaugh, of respectful conduct.

So when Vincent talks about what’s tolerated, let’s not forget that the head coaches swing so much influence on how their players conduct themselves. In other words, if a coach doesn’t control himself in blasting officials, don’t be surprised if his players are prone to lose their cool.

Of course, the coaches don’t control every action of their players – but they can try when it comes to infractions that cost the team.

The onus is on coaches to demand better.

Then again, I’m not sure what Rams coach Sean McVay could have done to prevent Jackson for taking a swing at Chubb. Although Jackson’s initial two-game suspension was reduced on appeal to one game, he’s yet to publicly explain his action.

Chubb, though, shared his version of the incident that undoubtedly carried over from the competition. Jackson punched him after words were exchanged.

“I’ll tell you exactly what I said,” Chubb told reporters at midweek. “I’ve heard I was talking about his mom. That’s not true.

“I said, ‘We’re gonna see y’all’s a-- again. And when we see you again, all that chipping ain’t going to save you. That tight end and guard is not going to save you.’

“He said, ‘What’d you say?’

“I said, ‘That chip’s not going to save you. The guard’s not going to save you.’ And then, boom.”

Vincent, for one, knows that too often it does not take much to ignite incidents. He is reminded, though, of something Hall of Fame linebacker Willie Lanier told him more than a decade ago, not long after he began his executive role.

“He told me that I could not allow this to become a ‘blood sport,’” Vincent said. “Every man deserves respect and dignity. Everyone is playing to go home to their families.”

Now that’s a noble standard. If only everyone agrees with the memo in the heat of the moment.

Follow Bell on X: @JarrettBell