Well, well, well... Sounds like we have our next potential powderkeg...
Husain Abdullah plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. He is a defensive back, and, as part of a large rout of the New England Patriots, picked off Tom Brady and took it in for a touchdown.
He then knelt in the end zone in prayer.
A little background: Abdullah is a devout Muslim. So much so, he decided to forgo a year of his NFL career to perform the hajj -- a pilgrimage to Mecca which every devout Muslim is expected to perform at least once in his or her lifetime.
You can almost guess what happens next: The official flags Abdullah for a fifteen-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
As I said with an earlier incident involving high schoolers honoring a dead friend in Texas (and getting similarly flagged), this is what you get when you have a culture of players like Terrell Owens and the like.
But this is going to be a stink. Abdullah knelt in the end zone and prayed to Allah.
How different is that than all the players who thank God in every conceivable interview?
Or is it that he's Muslim, guys? You know, ISIS and all???
Somebody trying to tell somebody something here, Herr Goodell?
EDIT TO ADD: When "The Friendly Atheist" asked about this scenario, he got this response from now-former NFL Director of Officiating and current FOX officiating analyst Mike Pereira:
"The whole issue is, you can’t go to the ground on your knees or with your hand or anything. There’s only one time that you’re going to be allowed to go on your knee after you score like this, and that’s when you want to praise the Lord. If you do that, then I’m going to allow that, because I do not want to be struck by lightning, I promise you that. We will allow that."
But, wait, he's not praising the Lord -- he's praising Allah...
Pereira redoubled this on his Twitter over last Thanksgiving weekend...
you're not penalized for going to the ground to give praise after a TD
— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) November 25, 2013
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