The NFL’s front office(s) are just…*smacks forehead*

As if suspending Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon a full season for possession of marijuana–which is illegal in some states and decriminalized in most–yet nearly allowing Ray Rice to play in Week 3 after he punched his wife unconscious in an elevator, and the unbelievably messy fallout that followed, wasn’t bad enough, the NFL nearly found itself on the very wrong side of a freedom-of-religion issue after last night’s Monday Night Football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots.

The story here isn’t the game. After all, by the end of the 3rd quarter, the Chiefs were up by 35 points–their fans were thanking the higher authority of whatever religion they aligned with that Tom Brady clearly didn’t have “it” all night. Husain Abdullah, a devout Muslim safety for the Kansas City Chiefs, intercepted a Tom Brady pass and promptly ran it back about 40 yards for a touchdown. It was the 6th interception of his pro career. While both Chiefs coach Andy Reid and Abdullah himself admit his sliding to the ground after scoring the touchdown prior to bowing in prayer may not have been the best of ideas–that type of maneuver always puts the referees in a tough spot, as the NFL rule book leaves much to the discretion of the officials in these circumstances–an NFL spokesperson admitted that despite Abdullah going to the ground following the score, which is a frowned upon activity league-wide, he should not have been flagged with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. This as per a The Kansas City Star report.

The officiating mechanic in this situation is not to flag a player who goes to the ground as part of religious expression, and as a result, there should have been no penalty on the play.

Also, in a more declarative statement, NFL Spokesman Michael Signora wrote this to USA Today Sports:

Husain Abdullah should not have been penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct following his fourth quarter touchdown.

Luckily for the NFL, this acknowledgment came swiftly, before this developed in a larger-than-life news story.