LJ - Unsportsmanlike Conduct, then Taunting?
 

I watched the game. LJ chased down the Samoan fellow, got a hand full of hair and made the stop. I recorded the game and cannot find any "taunting" gestures. LJ was up and had his back to this fellow and he jumped at LJ, who seemed to just ignore him.

Anybody see this different? I think the ref just figured grabbing hair was a violation and tossed the flag. He called unsportsmanlike conduct to cover his faux pax? Later, the announcer said "he meant tauting".

Sorry if this issue has been covered in another thread, looked but couldn't find anything.

I think they called taunting on LJ because he tossed Polamalu's hair back at him.

Pretty weak, IMO.

Holding the hair after tackle was clearly over was the issue IMO.

That's pretty much how I see it.

Some speculated that it was because he continued to pull as he was getting up. LJ said his hand was caught, and it looks that way to me in the video... maybe from tape on his hand or something?

Whatever it was, it didn't look malicious.

Doesn't matter anyway. He won't be fined, and it didn't change the out-come of the game.

My guess is they see Townsend over there shaming a ref into throwing a flag, they throw one for the hair tackle. The refs remind each other that it's legal and then say Unsportsmanlike conduct for the twist and jerk LJ did to get his hand out of Troy's tangled mess.

Either that or the UC call was for LJ pushing Ike Taylor after Ike gets in his face for tackling Troy like that. The refs never call the guys who crowd someone and gets in their face. It's always the player who retaliates.

it was clearly a "make up" type call.

they couldn't get him for the hair pull so they went with the generic BS taunting call.

Exactly. He wasn't flagged for pulling Polamalou down by the hair. He was flagged for continuing to hang on to it and yanking Troy back to his feet with it long after the play had ended.

Just stupidity on LJ's part.

They shouldn't have changed the call from "unsportsmanlike" though.

Look past the hair and see that LJ was in Ike Taylor's face after the play. LJ even admitted to hitting Ike twice. That's what caused the penalty.

That would certainly account for it.

I don't think so.

If you watch it, Polamalu spins when he goes down. That action probably tangled LJ's fingers into the hair, and I saw the "pulling" as him pulling his hand from the tangle.

I'll bet there are birds living in Polamalu's hair. It looks like a nasty mess.

well he hit ike taylor twice on purpose. Of course there will be no one comparing it to murder like last week.

Too bad.

You're right, it didn't make any game difference. I just felt the cascading events of the Chiefs melt-down were punctuated by this. Another post mentioned how LJ got into someone elses face. This occurs on many plays. Just watch DBs and WRs jabbering back and forth on a complete/incomplete pass. Why isn't taunting called on those plays?

Still makes me feel the refs have a hard time sorting out the good and bad intentions on the oh so changing rules shoved at them each year.

Why can't refs be fined on bad calls? Too often, there is a lame reason given by the league. Too often, their bad play calling has cost games to many teams. It is a bad enough year for the Chiefs, this just adds insult to injury.

does anybody have a clip of this, I haven't seen it

thanks

You can see the LJ taunting on Ike Taylor after the tackle on that clip.

I've seen it replayed several times. I do. :shrug:

Upon further review...
LJ closed his fist and pulled him up,
maybe
LJ MAD
LJ SMASH
LJ RUN

I watched the game at a sports bar and without audio, but when I saw the play and the first replay or two, I was pretty sure that the penalty was not for tackling the guy by the hair, which almost has to be legal because tackling the guy by the jersey sure as hell is, but for yanking on the hair after LJ got up and was releasing it. Whether LJ was innocently trying to free his hand from the hair or not, the motion looked to be unsportsmanlike and deserving of a flag.

LJ's hand was blocked into his hair ROFL

What I saw was the momentum popping both players up to their feet, and LJ trying to free his hand. Just watching the body language and movement( going in different directions) of both players after the play, tells me there wasn't malice involved.

Besdies I doubt LJ could pull over two hundred pounds up by the hair, with one arm.

:shrug:

I agree. It looks like LJ starts to pull his hand away and kind of gives it a yank to release it when he realizes it's stuck in Polamalu's hair.

As far as I could tell, the only time that he actually pulled it was when he was tackling him, and that's perfectly legal.

LJ was just on Metro Sports. He says (paraphrasing) "I hope I got flagged for hitting Ike Taylor in the face twice, because I wouldn't try to do anything like that to Troy. He's a good guy on and off the field."

Doesn't say much for his feelings about Taylor. LMAO

I don't think LJ was penalized for anything to do with the hair... and he shouldn't have been.

But those of you who claim he was tangled up in it and trying to let go???
Cmon. His hand was in a tight fist coming up, still holding tightly. That is not a hand that is trying to get loose.
I'm willing to say it was just a heat of battle type of thing, no different than holding a jersey or an ankle a little longer than you should. But let's not pretend LJ was a saint on this, either.