Unsportsmanlike Call on a Touchdown

[falcettik]

Situation: A player about to score a touchdown turns and taunts his opponent around the 4-5 yard line before crossing the goal line. The player is flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and the penalty was applied on the ensuing kick off.

My question: Should the touchdown have been nullified if the offense occurred before the player crossed the goal line? I guess this depends if unsportsmanlike conduct occurring during a play is a spot foul or if the penalty is assessed from where the ball is spotted at the end of the play?

 

[VAOfficial]

Situation: A player about to score a touchdown turns and taunts his opponent around the 4-5 yard line before crossing the goal line. The player is flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and the penalty was applied on the ensuing kick off.

My question: Should the touchdown have been nullified if the offense occurred before the player crossed the goal line? I guess this depends if unsportsmanlike conduct occurring during a play is a spot foul or if the penalty is assessed from where the ball is spotted at the end of the play?

NCAA: Absolutely correct. They differentiate between live ball and dead ball UNS. Live ball UNS can be enforced from the spot of the foul and usually is when it's a play like this with a player going into the EZ. In this play, the TD is nullified and 15 yards is enforced from the spot of the foul.

Just as additional information, in NCAA a UNS is not a spot foul by definition, which means it could be enforced from the basic spot (end of the run on a run play or the previous spot on a pass play) if the spot of the foul is in advance of the basic spot and the foul is committed by the offense. For example, an offensive player 10 yards in front of the runner curses at an opponent during live ball play and the runner is tackled behind them. That foul isn't enforced from the spot of the foul, but rather the basic spot at the end of the run. On the other hand, all defensive fouls are enforced from the basic spot unless they are spot fouls by definition.

NFHS (High School): All UNS penalties are dead ball penalties. The vernacular we use for this foul category is "live ball fouls treated as dead ball." The foul occurred during live ball action, but it's enforced as a dead ball penalty. So the score counts, and the penalty can either be administered on the try or the succeeding kickoff at the option of the offended team (the team on defense in this case).

This is one of the major differences between Friday and Saturday nights that can actually have a substantial impact on the game.

 

[bowlingref]

A college player had a touchdown taken away last week for flipping the bird to a defender about the 5 yard line.

 

[falcettik]

NCAA: Absolutely correct. They differentiate between live ball and dead ball UNS. Live ball UNS can be enforced from the spot of the foul and usually is when it's a play like this with a player going into the EZ. In this play, the TD is nullified and 15 yards is enforced from the spot of the foul.

Just as additional information, in NCAA a UNS is not a spot foul by definition, which means it could be enforced from the basic spot (end of the run on a run play or the previous spot on a pass play) if the spot of the foul is in advance of the basic spot and the foul is committed by the offense. For example, an offensive player 10 yards in front of the runner curses at an opponent during live ball play and the runner is tackled behind them. That foul isn't enforced from the spot of the foul, but rather the basic spot at the end of the run. On the other hand, all defensive fouls are enforced from the basic spot unless they are spot fouls by definition.

NFHS (High School): All UNS penalties are dead ball penalties. The vernacular we use for this foul category is "live ball fouls treated as dead ball." The foul occurred during live ball action, but it's enforced as a dead ball penalty. So the score counts, and the penalty can either be administered on the try or the succeeding kickoff at the option of the offended team (the team on defense in this case).

This is one of the major differences between Friday and Saturday nights that can actually have a substantial impact on the game.

Thanks for the explanation!