NFL Investigates Players’ On-Field Gang Signs

[Elano]

The National Football League has thrown the penalty flag down against its players, as the league will begin to crack down on athletes who use gang-related hand gestures as part of their on-field celebrations.


According to the Los Angeles Times, the NFL has hired experts to study game footage to determine whether players are using street-gang signs during the celebration of a sack or touchdown. Although, league officials do not believe the problem is widespread, the NFL has spoken to some unidentified players about their use of hand signals.

“There have been some suspected things we’ve seen,” Milt Ahlerich, the NFL’s vice president of security told the Times. “When we see it, we quietly jump on it immediately, directly with the team and the player or employee involved to cease and desist. Period.”

The NFL’s decision to review game tape for suspected signs came when the higher profile case of gang signs occurred during the NBA playoffs. Boston Celtics forward and captain Paul Pierce was fine $25,000 for making “menacing gestures” towards the Atlanta Hawks bench during a game of the opening round series.

“We were always suspicious that [gang-related hand signals] might be happening,” Mike Pereira, the NFL’s vice-president of officiating told the Times. “But the Paul Pierce thing is what brought it to light. When he was fined…that’s when we said we need to take a look at it and see if we need to be aware of it.”

In efforts to control the situation, first-year players who attended the NFL’s rookie symposium this summer were counseled on gangs, and last season every player was required to view a video on the dangers of gangs.

Some players believe that differentiating between a gang sign and something less menacing can involve some guesswork.

"Guys come from all over the country, and who knows what they're really doing?" Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Dennis Northcutt told the Times. "People have got signs for their kids, signs for their fraternities. How do you differentiate who's really throwing up gang signs?”

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NEW YORK (AP)—The NFL is stepping up its monitoring of on-field player activities to ensure that no one is flashing the hand signals of street gangs.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that the league had hired experts to look at game tapes and identify players or team officials who might be using suspected gang signals. Violators would be warned and disciplined if the episodes recurred.

League officials said Tuesday that avoiding gang-related activities has long been stressed.

They said the scrutiny was intensified after the shooting death of Denver cornerback Darrent Williams in 2007 after Williams was involved in a dispute with known gang members. Anti-gang information is included in orientation literature and stressed in the annual mandatory league meeting for rookies.

The NFL took further notice after Paul Pierce of the NBA’s Boston Celtics was fined $25,000 in April for what the league said was a “menacing gesture” toward the Atlanta Hawks’ bench. “I 100 percent do not in any way promote gang violence or anything close to it.” Pierce said in a statement. “I am sorry if it was misinterpreted that way at Saturday’s game.”

The Times said that was the precipitating incident for the NFL.

“We were always suspicious that might be happening,” it quoted Mike Pereira, the NFL’s vice president of officiating, as saying of gang-related signals. “But the Paul Pierce thing is what brought it to light. When he was fined … that’s when we said we need to take a look at it and see if we need to be aware of it.”

Most senior NFL officials were at a league outing Tuesday and could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Concerned that some players might be flashing the hand signals of street gangs, the NFL has hired experts to examine game tapes to look for gestures, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Mike Ahlerich, the NFL's vice president of security, told the Times "there have been some suspected things we've seen."

Ahlerich told the newspaper that the NFL has warned its players about the influence of gangs and organized crime. He added that the league has stepped up its reminders since Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was gunned down in 2007.

Athletes flashing signs was brought to the forefront in April when the Celtics' Paul Pierce was fined for making "menacing gestures" to the Atlanta Hawks

Mike Pereira, the NFL's vice president of officiating, told the Times that the league was always suspicious of gang-related hand signals happening during games, but that the Pierce incident "brought it to light."

According to the Times, the league decided to make the identification of gang signs a point of emphasis this season.

The newspaper reported that NFL officials will not be responsible for identifying gang signals, but that they will alert the league headquarters if they see anything suspicious.

[OG Hack Wilson]

interesting

[Chamillitary Click]

interesting

word, ive never seen it tho...when T.O. flapped his arms in philly, was that gang-related?

[OG Hack Wilson]

i'm sure if you watched the Umiami players you'd see plenty of gang signs haha


and TO's birdflap....that was just lame lol.  but his dancing on the star in dallas was awesome.