15 Yard penalty for taunting

By Brad Crone, Political consultant and NC SPIN panelist, August 2, 2013.

Imagine if you will that Governor Pat McCrory is a star wide-receiver playing for the Carolina Panthers in a Sunday afternoon NFL game.  The Panthers are playing a longtime rival such as the Washington Redskins.

The Panthers have dominated the past two seasons, wiping up their division and really showing a lot of agility and prowess on the field.  The Redskins have experienced a tough few years.  They have struggled to find their game, they have had two major off-the-field controversies that distracted the team effort and disgruntled their fan base.

In this game, the time is winding down, the contest has been contentious.  The Panthers dominated the first half but the Redskins seem to find their stride in the late third quarter and fourth.  They were pushing back – taking a stand, showing unified opposition.

With the clock ticking, the Panthers needed  to score, it was flea-flicker, a semi-trick play that caught the defense off-guard and surprised the fans as well.  Wide Receiver Pat caught the pass on the 10-yard line, there was some pushing and shoving but a quick move to the right and Pat was in the end zone. A touch-down.

What happened next was uncharacteristic.

Pat took the ball and pushed it up into the face of his opponent and then did a celebratory dance.  The opponent was shocked. The fans watching were stunned. And the two deep back officials threw their yellow flags.

Fifteen yards for unsportsmanlike conduct – taunting the opponent.

If the Governor was playing in the NFL his cookie stunt with the women protesters at the Executive Mansion would have been an unsportsmanlike penalty.

The move was a huge poke in the eye, it was a universal one-finger salute to a group of women who genuinely disagreed with him.  Nothing more. Nothing less.

The cookie stunt will probably be a defining moment for the Governor and his administration.  Taunting those who are opposed to you usually serves as a galvanizing force.  There is little doubt that women voters surely took notice. The Republican base may have seen it as being cute. The Democrats were aghast and the unaffiliated voters are still scratching their heads trying to figure out the point of such a crass and condescending gesture.