The NFL held a media briefing Thursday afternoon to address various topics including player safety and points of emphasis. NFL officiating rules analyst Walt Anderson discussed player celebrations and said the league wanted to crack down on inappropriate celebrations, sharing two surprising statistics in the process.

“From the standpoint of our taunting, it was up, I believe, about 55% last year,” Anderson said. “Unsportsmanlike gestures, whether they were simulating or brandishing a gun or inappropriate gestures like a throat slash or unfortunate sexual gestures that were made, those were up almost 133%, so that is a point of emphasis.”

Anderson said officials have spoken with each team about the boundaries of how they can celebrate, with the league tweaking the mandate as the seaso

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