College football is paying close attention to players making fake gun gestures at opponents.
This occurred on Saturday when freshman edge rusher Dylan Stewart sacked Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart for an eight-yard loss. After the play, Stewart stood over him and pretended to shoot with a fake gun.
Stewart was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, resulting in a 15-yard penalty for South Carolina.
However, the penalty didn’t stop Stewart. A few minutes later, after stopping Rebels runner Matt Jones for a 4-yard loss, he celebrated again by mimicking shots from a pretend shotgun. No penalty was called on that play.
At Minnesota, defensive back Justin Walley broke up a pass during his team’s 24-17 victory over then-No. 11 Southern California. He then lifted his shirt as if he was showing a handgun tucked in his waistband.
Walley was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for what the official said was “simulating brandishing a gun.”
“There’s a list of automatic unsportsmanlike conduct fouls. One of them in our rule book is simulating firing of a weapon,” Steve Shaw, the NCAA’s national coordinator of officials, told The Associated Press by phone Tuesday. “That’s not really a judgment call.”
It seems the players showed poor judgment with these actions during their celebrations. These incidents demonstrate the NCAA’s effort to keep any form of violence, even pretend violence, out of college football.
“We’re starting to see, I hate to say it, but more and more of it,” Shaw said. “We’re just trying to say that’s not acceptable. Gun violence is not acceptable in our game.”
Getting this message across to young players like Stewart, who turned 19 last month and has quickly made a mark on the Gamecocks’ defense with 3.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles behind the line in his first five college games, can be tough.
Similar displays have also been seen in the NFL. Jets receiver Allen Lazard was penalized for making finger guns after a first-down catch against Denver two weeks ago and was fined $14,069 for “unsportsmanlike conduct for a violent gesture,” according to the NFL.
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said he talked to Stewart after the penalty and has spoken with all his players about cutting down on penalties before and after plays.
The gesture was “unacceptable,” Beamer said. “And Dylan Stewart feels awful about that play. Dylan Stewart’s a really good kid, and Dylan Stewart’s mom feels awful about that play.”
Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck mentioned at his weekly news conference that he advises his players to celebrate with their teammates and not put themselves at risk for officials to misinterpret their actions.
“In our world right now, we’re talking about everybody should express themselves, rightfully so,” Fleck said. “Sometimes we’re flagging a particular move, sometimes we’re not. Our whole thing to counter that is don’t leave it up to somebody to interpret something the wrong way.”
Dart, who leads the Southeastern Conference in passing, reacted to Stewart’s fake shooting on social media by quoting late rapper Young Dolph’s song, “100 Shots.”
“How the … you miss a whole hunnid shots?” Dart said, using a line from the song after the Rebels’ 27-3 victory.
Shaw said players need to understand they can celebrate in creative ways after big plays. He mentioned that after the NCAA penalized the throat slash gesture, some players started pretending to wipe their noses, which is not against the rules.
