The National Football League said it will make sportsmanship a priority for game officials in the forthcoming 2025 season, warning that flags will be thrown more readily for taunting, standing over fallen opponents, and for violent or sexual gestures. “There's no place in the game to be standing over your opponent. There's no place in the game to have violent gestures. That’s not the game of football,” a league representative said, underscoring a tighter approach to unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties. League data show concussions have fallen to their lowest level in years, but the NFL is seeing a rise in what it categorizes as illegal sexual gestures, prompting a broader crackdown on on-field behavior. Officials have been instructed to treat such actions as automatic penalties, part of a renewed emphasis designed to protect player safety and the league’s image. The heightened focus on discipline comes as Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson claimed on local radio that league executives discouraged clubs from drafting Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders this year in an effort to “make an example” of him. The Browns ultimately selected Sanders in the fifth round at No. 144 overall after what Dickerson described as a late intervention by NFL officials. The league has not commented on Dickerson’s allegation.