Husain Abdullah, a defensive player for the Kansas City Chiefs, was penalized on Monday night football after scoring a touchdown, dropping to his knees and praying — and now the NFL says the referee made a mistake.
Abdullah, a devout Muslim, intercepted a pass from New England Patriot quarterback Tom Brady in the fourth quarter and raced 39 yards for a touchdown in a game won by the Chiefs 41-14 at Arrowhead Stadium.
"If I get a pick, I'm going to prostrate before God in the end zone," Abdullah said,
according to the Kansas City Star. He slid into the end zone, landed on his knees and bowed his head in prayer and was greeted with a 15-yard penalty.
"For me, I just got a little too excited," Abdullah said after the game. "I think it was for the slide."
NFL spokesman Michael Signora said on Twitter Tuesday that the game officials erred when they flagged Abdullah for the prayer celebration.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil liberties and advocacy organization, issued a statement on Facebook asking the NFL to clarify its celebration rule comparing Abdullah's celebration to that of Tim Tebow's one-knee prayer after scoring when he was in the league, even though league rules prohibits on field celebrations.
"To prevent the appearance of a double standard, we urge league officials to clarify the policy on prayer and recognize that the official made a mistake in this case," said CAIR national communications director Ibrahim Hooper in the statement.
Abdullah played for the Minnesota Vikings from 2008 to 2011, then took a year off to make a pilgrimage to Mecca,
according to ESPN. He's in his second year with the Chiefs.