Drake London now has a third reason to regret imitating a machine gun after scoring the game-winning touchdown on “Monday Night Football.”
The Atlanta Falcons wide receiver was fined $14,069 on Saturday for what the NFL called a “violent gesture.”
London had already said he wished he hadn’t celebrated after catching a 7-yard pass from Kirk Cousins in the final minute of a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The gesture earned the officials a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which was telling considering London’s six-point touchdown had only tied the game.
To take the lead, Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo had to make a 48-yard PAT. Fortunately for London, he did.
London’s move not only cost the Falcons points on the field, it was also a bad move given the context of what the team had done the week before.
Atlanta hosted Georgia’s Apalachee High School football team on Friday, following a mass shooting at the school that left two students and two teachers dead. London told reporters days later that his celebration was insensitive given the amount of gun violence in the world and that he likely won’t do it again:
“It’s a trend in football to do those kinds of celebrations,” London told ESPN. “It was my first Monday Night Football game. I got a little caught up in it. I wasn’t happy with the position I had put my team in.”
“There’s a lot of gun violence going on in the world that I don’t think I should have shown,” London said. “So I’m not too happy about it and [you] “You’ll probably never see that from me again.”
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris on Wednesday downplayed the intent of the celebration in London, but acknowledged it was a “mistake.”
The NFL still felt the need to remind London again that his gesture was inappropriate, though the league has never been shy about deducting five-figure sums from its players’ salaries with little oversight.
London will try to turn the tide on Sunday when the Falcons take on the Kansas City Chiefs in another primetime game on “Sunday Night Football.”
