NFL referees complain about “gun celebration” penalty against Giants’ Darius Slayton

NFL referees are now clutching their pearls over the 'gun celebration' taunt.

Whether in the college game or in the pros, football players fire a fake gun to celebrate their respective major achievements, which upsets a lot of people.

It's pretty rude… but what are you going to do??

The cheers were so great that the referees are now penalizing anything that resembles a fake gun with 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalties, which is ridiculous.

During Sunday's game between the New York Giants and the Seattle Seahawks, Giants outside hitter Darius Slayton made a huge 41-yard catch off a deep lob from Daniel Jones to put the G-Men in enemy territory.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – OCTOBER 06: Darius Slayton #86 of the New York Giants scores a touchdown in the third quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on October 06, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

READ: Bad luck hits the Giants on time with a humiliating fumble at the goal line, the Seahawks return the touchdown

Slayton signaled that he had gotten the first down by “finger-gunning” (a fairly standard movement) toward the end zone and the referees charged him with “taunting.”

Soft… there's no other way to call it.

NFL players have long performed the first down celebration without issue, so the referees clearly thought Slayton was imitating a weapon.

This isn't the first time the Giants have been rattled by a ridiculous call from officials.

Slayton more than made up for the 15-yard penalty.

On the following play, Jones hit Slayton for a 30-yard touchdown reception to give the Giants a 17-10 lead.

The connection pushed Slayton past 100 yards, marking his first 100-yard performance since the game against the Rams in December 2023 and just his sixth 100-yard game of his career.

During the Week 4 game against the Cowboys on Thursday Night Football, Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger was assessed a facemask penalty. A replay of the sequence showed that Bellinger was the player who suffered the facemask grab, making the official's call a real headache.

Giants fans were outraged by the penalty against Slayton.

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