Muslim NFL player penalized for praying after touchdown

[KamaAina]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/muslim-nfl-player-penalized-for-praying-after-touchdown/

A Muslim football player was penalized during Monday night’s nationally-televised game for praying after scoring a touchdown, SB Nation reported.

Officials cited Kansas City Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah for “unsportsmanlike conduct” for dropping to the ground and kneeling after scoring a touchdown against New England, as seen below:

According to SB Nation, Abdullah practices the traditional Muslim fast during Ramadan, even though it coincides with training camp, and missed the 2012 season so that he could take part in the Hajj to Mecca with his brother Hamza Abdullah, a former NFL player.

However, SB Nation noted that Christian players, like former Denver and New York quarterback Tim Tebow, are never penalized for gestures of worship during games, like Tebow’s habit of kneeling, which became known as “Tebowing.”

Now we know why St. Timmeh never cut it in the NFL. He was always backed up to his own 1!

[Staph]

1. The NFL admitted the next day that it was wrong to penalize him.

The N.F.L. said Tuesday that Kansas City Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah was mistakenly penalized by a game official when he knelt to pray after scoring a touchdown Monday night.

In the fourth quarter of the Chiefs’ 41-14 victory over the New England Patriots, Abdullah, who is Muslim, intercepted a pass by Tom Brady and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown. After he entered the end zone, he slid on his knees and bowed forward in prayer, with his head touching the turf.

He was given a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

An N.F.L. spokesman said Tuesday that Abdullah should not have been penalized. “Officiating mechanic is not to flag player who goes to ground for religious reasons,” Michael Signora, the spokesman, said on Twitter.

It had no affect on the game -- it was the Patriot's worst loss in nine years.


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/sports/football/nfl-says-penalty-on-chiefs-husain-abdullah-for-praying-was-a-mistake.html?_r=0