NFL: Taunting flags up to set example for kids

In a video sent to teams this week, NFL senior vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said the uptick in taunting and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties this season was meant to strengthen the example the league sets for lower levels of football.

"The bottom line is that there's many, many kids out there that are NFL fans that are playing football," Blandino said in the video, "and they see our athletes and they mimic what they do. We wouldn't want some of these things out on the youth football field. We have a high standard in the NFL and we're going to maintain that standard."

Through the first four weeks of the season, taunting penalties increased by 220 percent compared to the same…