By: Imani Jones

In the art of the sport known for egregious tackles, chronic traumatic encephalopathy and bringing millions of the population together to enjoy one game, American football has negatively sculpted the culture of young men and grown adults at an alarmingly high rate. The violence associated with the game has multiple route causes, competitiveness and the urge to win against an opponent can portray unethical acts among the people in a football game. Specifically, reactions of brute force are being applied to game-day celebrations among the National Football League players, trickling down to collegiate-level recruit athletes. 

Entering week nine of 15 of the college football season, the average viewer of each match may have noticed the significant number of unsportsmanlike penalties. Unsportsmanlike conduct occurs when participants celebrate using excessive taunting or physical/verbal abuse toward an opponent or coach. The punishment requires a 15-yard penalty and can result in suspension or fining of the player. On Oct. 5,  the showdown of the Minnesota Golden Gophers faced No. 11 ranked University of Southern California Trojans, causing an upset with a final score of 24-17 (Gophers). During the game, Gophers quarterback #2 Walley was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct; however, this penalty was labeled differently from others as the referee announced the conduct under “simulating brandishing of a weapon.” Walley slid up a portion of his jersey to reveal his waistband, implicating that a handgun could be tucked into it. 

Similar instances have seized the celebrations of each game, showcased again previously in the collegiate football season by Lousiana State University’s wide receiver, #2 Kyren Lacy. In celebration of a play for the benefit of LSU, Lacy boldly demonstrated shooting an assault weapon held with two hands, presumably firing pretend air bullets across the field. As his penalty put him on the bench, Lacy then simulated the artillery in front of his teammates on the sideline. In these cases, a similar trend of the participant holding a specific type of weapon requires the user to clutch it properly with both hands, unlike a smaller handheld pistol, inferring the more powerful assault weapon.

Although the correlation may seem loose, the trend of larger assault weapons in the United States can be an explanation for the threatening celebrations displayed by football athletes. In Aaron O’Neill’s article published on Statista.com, a statistical graph reveals the output of AR-15 assault rifles in the United States. The skyrocket in manufacturing began its upward trend around 2005, as the rates rose from 3.6%  to 4.6% in just a year. Can it be an unrelated coincidence that the majority of college freshmen and sophomores were born in 2005? The exposure to assault weapons becoming more desensitizing to young adults and college athletes each year after birth has made its way to the football fields. 

The popularity of assault weapons in the United States has normalized violent actions in younger age groups. While in a competitive state as intense as a collegiate football game or NFL match, the emotions of players may overcome them, but it is alarming the comfort these athletes feel when simulating the actions of shooting a firearm. Viewers of football media can be expected to notice this behavior due to the participant’s exposure to weaponry, as it has been standardized and shown in media beginning at such a young age. 

(LSU wide receiver #2 Kyren Lacy)