Ezekiel Elliott's 'kettle' jump a penalty despite NFL's relaxed celebration rules
— -- Ezekiel Elliott's jump into a Salvation Army kettle would still draw a penalty this season, even after the NFL's decision in May to relax its celebration rules.
Elliott's spontaneous leap, which came during the Dallas Cowboys' Week 14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is featured in a video that the league is showing all players and coaches during training camp.
The relaxed ruled allow players to use the ball but nothing else as a prop. In the Elliott scenario, the kettle is considered a prop.
ESPN earlier reported that "dunking" the ball over the crossbar after a score will remain illegal because it uses the goal post as a prop.
Generally speaking, the NFL has eased its rules on three main areas of celebrations: Using the ball as a prop, going to the ground to celebrate and celebrating in a group.
All three are now legal, as long as they are not accompanied by violent or otherwise offensive imagery. Officials will be given some discretion to interpret the content of celebrations as players explore the new limits.
Related Stories
ABC News Live