If the latest dance sweeping the sports world is any indication, Donald Trump and the NFL might get along much better in his second term in the White House than they did the first time around.
Several NFL players have taken a cue from the college ranks and even soccer pitches and mixed martial arts octagons and are celebrating big moments by hitting the “Trump dance.”
It started with San Francisco star defensive end Nick Bosa celebrating a sack during the 49ers’ win over Tampa Bay in Week 10 and it took off Sunday when at least four players broke out the Trump-inspired dance.
After sacking Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, Bosa swayed his hips slowly from side to side and swung his arms in a similar rhythm, just like the 78-year-old president-elect had done on the campaign trail, usually while “Y.M.C.A.” blared at his rallies.
College football players have been doing the Trump dance for weeks. Players from the English club Barnsley celebrated a recent goal with the Trump dance and U.S. men’s soccer star Christian Pulisic got in on it after scoring a goal against Jamaica in a Concacaf Nations League matchup Monday.
The Trump dance took off in the NFL over the weekend with several players celebrating sacks or scores with it.
It’s not clear why some players have chosen to mimic the dance moves, though it’s not surprising in the case of Bosa, who is a Trump supporter.
In his first term in office, there was friction between Trump and the league. Trump took issue with players kneeling during the national anthem to protest social or racial injustice. That was a movement that began in 2016 with then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during “The Star-Spangled Banner” during an exhibition game in Denver.
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Now, Trump’s dance moves are inspiring celebrations across the league he once vilified.
Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers, Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley and Lions defensive end Za’Darius Smith were among those using the moves last weekend.
A week earlier, Bosa’s teammates, Leonard Floyd, Fred Warner and Sam Okuayinonu, all joined in Bosa’s dance, which came not long after Bosa was fined $11,255 by the NFL for wearing a cap with a pro-Donald Trump message when he crashed quarterback Brock Purdy’s postgame television interview ahead of the election.
Bosa said it was well worth the price of a fine for violating the league’s uniform and equipment rules that prohibit players from conveying personal messages without NFL consent.
The league, however, has no problem with Bosa or anyone else doing the Trump dance.
“There’s no issue with a celebratory dance such as what took place Sunday or the previous week with the 49ers on November 10,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed to The Associated Press this week.
The NFL rule book and the league’s player manual both outline when a celebration could be flagged or a player would be fined for unsportsmanlike conduct. Those actions include prolonged or excessive celebration, any violent gesture or an act that is sexually suggestive or offensive.
The NFL has loosened it celebration rules in the last few years. The league’s player manual gives guidance on how players can celebrate without drawing a flag or fine. It states, “If your demonstration constitutes taunting or unsportsmanlike conduct, or delays the game, a foul will be called against your team. Demonstrations that will be deemed unsportsmanlike conduct include but are not limited to: (1) individual or group involvement in prolonged or excessive celebrations or demonstrations; (2) using any object as a prop, or possessing any foreign or extraneous object(s) that is not part of the uniform on the field or the sideline during the game, other than the football after a scoring play or a change of possession.”
That prohibition includes dunking the ball over the goal posts, doing anything that’s sexually suggestive, violent or in poor taste or actions that are unsportsmanlike or offensive toward game officials, and any coach, team staff member or inactive player leaving the sideline to participate in a celebration.
Trump hasn’t publicly commented on the NFL players breaking out his dance moves, but the former and future U.S. president appeared pleased Saturday night when Jon Jones hit the Trump dance after pummeling Stipe Miocic to retain the UFC heavyweight championship at Madison Square Garden.
Sitting ringside, Trump smiled and cheered and then stood to give Jones an ovation as the champion jumped on the cage railing and leaned back in a victory pose.
Bowers, who broke out the Trump dance after a 23-yard catch-and-run TD, told USA Today he watched the UFC fight the night before and thought it was cool when Jones celebrated his victory with the Trump dance before he pointed to Trump and gave him a thumbs-up.
Ridley did the dance while celebrating along with teammate Nick Westbrook-Ikhine during Tennessee’s 23-13 loss to Minnesota. Smith and Malcolm Rodriguez busted it out after a sack in the fourth quarter of Detroit’s 52-6 rout of Jacksonville.
