NFL Under Fire For Social Media Post Making Fun of Zay Flowers

Baltimore Ravens rookie wide receiver struggled in Sunday afternoon's AFC Championship loss with a taunting penalty called and a fumble at the goal line. Despite the rookie's mistakes, they pale in comparison to the one the league's X account made after.

There weren't many rookie wide receivers that had as positive an impact as Zay Flowers had on the Baltimore Ravens in 2023. 

The first-round pick out of Boston College caught 77 passes for 858 yards and five scores for the Ravens during the regular season. His big play ability matched with quarterback Lamar Jackson well. The latter of which is on his way to his second MVP trophy thanks in large part to Flowers' exploits. 

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Despite the success throughout the regular season, Flowers' year will be remembered most for his two gaffes in the AFC Championship game. The receiver was called for a taunting penalty that somewhat negated a 54-yard completion, and then, just three plays after, fumbled at the goal line while trying to stretch forward for a touchdown. 

Those plays can be considered rookie mistakes for a young phenom like Flowers. Even if the Ravens ended up losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 17-10.

Still, that didn't stop the NFL from openly mocking the rookie in the worst possible way. 

"FUMBLED AT THE GOAL LINE. BIG PLAY ZAY,” the NFL's social media account tweeted with a highlight of the play. 

The tweet has since been deleted and republished highlighting the effort made by Chiefs' cornerback L'Jarius Sneed. 

Even with the resubmitted post, the league openly mocking a young player for a play that has been made by several great players in the past is a bad look overall. Other receivers like Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson have fumbled important passes in the back of the end zone to cost their team victories.

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What Flowers did wasn't exactly uncommon - regardless if it sparks debate on whether the end zone touchback rule should be abolished. 

But the NFL trying to use a bad play to get extra clips and engagement isn't a very good sign for rookies trying to make a name for themselves in future years. 

Deleting the tweet certainly doesn't help either.