Darius Slayton calls out NFL's double standards with Chiefs after Giants WR gets penalized for finger gun celebration
Darius Slayton was fined $14,000 by the NFL for making a finger gun gesture after catching a 41-yard pass during the New York Giants' 29-20 win at the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes did the same thing after celebrating a rushing first down but went unpunished.
The wide receiver is unhappy with it as he tweeted to complain:
"It's cool when they do it"
The New York Post's Ryan Dunleavy also supported him:
However, Slayton isn't the only one to suffer the consequences of making such a gesture. The New York Jets' Allen Lazard did the same thing against the Denver Broncos and got docked $14,069:
Darius Slayton speaks up on big performance vs. Seahawks
There was a major reason behind Darius Slayton's very energetic (if somewhat controversial) gesture on Sunday. That 41-yard catch was his biggest play of the day - one that saw him dominate the Seahawks' stacked secondary with 122 yards and a touchdown from eight catches.
Usually, such numbers would be reserved for Malik Nabers. But with the rookie nursing a concussion, someone else had to step up, and up stepped the longest-tenured member of the Big Blue's WR corps.
Slayton said that it was the opposite of what he had been used to:
“Just trying to do my best to remember that. I definitely went the wrong way a time or two (laughs), but I was able to do decent today.”
About the gesture, which coach Brian Daboll later expressed Darius Slayton was regretful over, Slayton added:
“You know what’s funny is, when I got up, I know that if you’re close to the guy, that’s when you get ’em. I purposely made sure there was nobody near, so I wasn’t pointing at anybody, just into nothing. No more points. If I do, it’ll be like this — just one finger.”
Speaking of Daboll, he praised the veteran:
“He’s very dependable, and he’s smart. He’s a great teammate. He’s always done whatever we’ve asked of him.”
Daniel Jones, the wideout's 2019 batchmate, was also impressive. The Giants will look to hit .500 when they host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night.