For the second week in a row, an NFL player has been fined for a Marshawn Lynch-inspired touchdown celebration.
Last week, Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams was fined $19,697 for diving backwards into the end zone and grabbing his crotch at the end of his 64-yard touchdown run during the Lions’ 52-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This week, Seahawks cornerback Coby Bryant will receive $6,594 from his NFL check for a similar celebration after his 69-yard pick-6 during Seattle’s 16-6 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
The celebration was planned in advance, Bryant told the Seahawks’ social media team after the game.
“I talked to my brother and my dad before the game. I told them I was going to do it,” Bryant said. “I’m more than likely going to get fined, so Marshawn, if you see this, show your boy some love too.
Bryant, like Williams, was penalized for “Unsportsmanlike Conduct (obscene gestures)” for the celebration that Lynch made famous during his “BeastQuake” touchdown during the 2011 NFC wild card game.
There was no flag on Bryant’s interception return, and no penalties were called during Williams’ and Lynch’s touchdowns.
The Seahawks used Bryant’s silhouette as a replacement for the football in the NFL logo and celebrated his NFC Defensive Player of the Week award with a post on X using an image of Bryant’s dive with the caption: “Hold my D. ..defensive player of the week award.”
It was brought to Lions head coach Dan Campbell’s attention this week that the NFL used Williams’ dive as a thumbnail image on the video package for the Lions-Jaguars game.
“It depends on what it is,” Campbell said of which celebrations are allowed. “The league will allow it, right? They will use whatever they need. Contents.”
Money collected by the NFL from the fines is donated to the Professional Athletes Foundation to “support legends in need and the NFL Foundation to further support the health, safety and well-being of athletes at all levels, including youth football and the communities that support the game.” “