NFL Fines Kindergarten Student for Excessive Finger Painting

NEW YORK - The National Football League has announced that it has fined a New York area Kindergarten student an undisclosed amount for violating the league’s Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty.The student, who will go unnamed due to minor status, reportedly turned in a finger-painted mural of the NFL shield to Commissioner Roger Goodell while on a school trip Monday afternoon.By Tuesday morning, Goodell had seen enough and the five-year-old aspiring astronaut/football player was punished.“The drawing in question violates our league’s Unsportsmanlike Conduct policy, which states that any prolonged or excessive celebration or demonstration by an individual is subject to punishment,” Goodell said. “There were way too many colors and the shading wasn’t uniform or done using any league-sanctioned method of artistic expression.”The decision comes on the heels of a slew of other questionable rule enforcements officials have made, including its enforcement with its new taunting rules.The NFL has made no secret of its commitment this upcoming season to penalize players for taunting, or what is defined as “baiting or taunting acts or words that may engender ill will between teams.”While no doubt the league wants to promote a culture of competition and sportsmanship, it’s the enforcement of these new rules, including the recent fine of the kindergarten student, that some are calling into question.“We can’t have this kind of nonsense in our league,” Goodell said of both the finger painting and recent taunting incidents. “We’re committed to providing a safe, family-friendly, team environment for fans and these forms of individual expression will not be tolerated.”End of the Bench will have more as this story develops.