'Yeah, I'm Pro Taunting!' Baltimore Ravens Rival and Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow Explains Unpopular Stance

Since he's been in the league, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has become on of the NFL's most notorious trash talkers, and thinks taunting is part of the game.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) claps for his team during warmups before the first / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY

Joe Burrow is a competitor, and most agree he's one of the more aggressive in football.

Since he's been in the league, he's become on of the NFL's most notorious trash talkers, and thinks taunting is part of the game.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) claps for his team during warmups before the first / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY

During the Baltimore Ravens' AFC Championship matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, Ravens rookie wideout Zay Flowers caught a deep pass, then taunted the opposing player, drawing a penalty. Burrow was all for it, and posted on X, “Let the guys taunt.”

Recenlty appearing on the now-famous New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce, Burrow stood by his words, “We’re all grown adults that work really hard at what we do. And sometimes we'd like to show it. I’m not gonna get my feelings hurt if somebody sacks me and taunts me, like, you made a play. I get it. Like good for you.”

The league doesn't just discourage taunting - it's practically banned it.

No, not because the NFL doesn't want players to have fun and enjoy the spirit of competition. It's because taunting has a tendancy to turn violent ... anywhere, anytime. Especially in sports.

When it was a point of emphasis in the NFL, the referees called is pretty cut and dry. There was no gray area. Now, here we are almost three seasons removed from that "point of emphasis," and it's called completely differently.

In the before-referenced AFC Championship game last season, there had been plenty of taunting between the Chiefs and Ravens players before Flowers' blatant act. And players were getting away with it.

Before 2021, the league also made taunting a "point of emphasis" in 2014. That didn't last long either.

If everyone thought like Burrow, there would be no anti-taunting rule, because no one would get their feelings hurt about it. Nowadays, though, it sparks fights and animosity. And that's what the NFL is trying to prevent.