CeeDee Lamb will need to find another celebration. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
(Cooper Neill via Getty Images)
CeeDee Lamb is going to be part of the NFL rulebook.
The league made a rule change this week directly targeting the Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and his signature nose wipe celebration. Making the gesture will now result in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as a “violent gesture.”
The exact wording on prohibited acts laid out in Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1(d) in the rules report sent to teams this week:
“Any violent gesture, which shall include but not be limited to a throat slash, simulating firing or brandishing a gun, or using the “nose wipe” gesture, or an act that is sexually suggestive or offensive.”
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As Pro Football Talk notes, the nose wipe is a gang sign associated with the Bloods, used to indicate someone is untrustworthy.
Lamb appears ready to adjust accordingly, as he indicated on social media he has other celebrations in mind.
Lamb has been using the nose wipe since he was drafted in 2020, and has since become one of the top wide receivers in the NFL. He’s coming off a fourth-straight Pro Bowl season, in which he posted 101 receptions on 152 targets, with 1,194 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 15 games played. It was a disappointing season overall for the Cowboys, who posted a 7-10 record and moved on from head coach Mike McCarthy, promoting offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to the job.
