# NFL Muslim player penalised for praying.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-muslim-player-penalised-for-praying/699967>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [September 30, 2014, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-muslim-player-penalised-for-praying/699967 "2014-09-30T13:22:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-muslim-player-penalised-for-praying/699967/21 "2014-10-12T01:21:29Z")

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> [@JSexton](#):
>
> It feels like everyone talking about it is unaware of what really happened. The flag was thrown once he started sliding on his knees, before he knelt and prayed. The ref had no way of knowing that it was a religious gesture at the time the flag was rightly thrown. Neither the player nor his head coach had any problem with the flag, nor did he feel discriminated against, because of the slide. This is a total non-issue.

Hamlet’s quote seems to indicate the NFL disagrees with you. It may have been improper conduct, but a penalty flag was the wrong way of dealing with it.

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**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-muslim-player-penalised-for-praying/699967/22 "2014-10-12T18:16:17Z")

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I saw a player just the other night in the end zone after a touchdown, doing the Namaste Gesture. This gesture is called Añjali Mudrā or Pranamasana. In Hinduism it means "I bow to the divine in you.

I haven’t heard anything about him being penalized, fined, suspended, banned, or imprisoned.

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**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-muslim-player-penalised-for-praying/699967/23 "2014-10-12T18:48:35Z")

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> [@BigT](#):
>
> Hamlet’s quote seems to indicate the NFL disagrees with you. It may have been improper conduct, but a penalty flag was the wrong way of dealing with it.

Again, at the moment the flag was thrown, the player was sliding on his knees in celebration, which is illegal. He then started praying, which sort of retroactively made it legal, but the flag was already thrown by then.

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**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-muslim-player-penalised-for-praying/699967/24 "2014-10-12T18:50:40Z")

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> [@jtur88](#):
>
> I saw a player just the other night in the end zone after a touchdown, doing the Namaste Gesture. This gesture is called Añjali Mudrā or Pranamasana. In Hinduism it means "I bow to the divine in you.
> 
> I haven’t heard anything about him being penalized, fined, suspended, banned, or imprisoned.

Of course nor. Arian Foster didn’t go to the ground, so there was no reason for him to have been flagged. What Foster did was akin to pointing up at heaven after a TD, which has never been an issue. What’s your point?

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