Muslim NFL player penalized for praying after touchdown

[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