1 week Ago By Paul Sullivan
The latest end zone celebration sweeping the nation is the Trump dance, made popular by UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones after Saturday’s win over Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden. Surely you know the Trump dance, originally performed by President-elect Donald Trump at a campaign rally, consisting of mild hip gyrations and exaggerated hand gestures like shaking maracas ..
. or something. Jones performed it Saturday night as a tribute to Trump, a UFC fan who was at the event with members of his entourage, including Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr.
, Robert Kennedy Jr. and Kid Rock, also known by my family as the “Axis of Weasels.” Asked about the Trump dance celebration by USA Today after Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers explained : “I’ve seen everyone do it.
I watched the UFC fight last night and Jon Jones did it. I like watching UFC so I saw it, and thought it was cool.” USA Today reporter Safid Deen wrote on social media that a Raiders staff member ended the postgame interview after the question, so we don’t know if it was a tribute to Trump or if Bowers thinks it’s the Jon Jones dance.
No matter. It’s here to stay. According to the Washington Post, Bowers, Tennessee’s Calvin Ridley and Detroit’s Za’Darius Smith and Malcolm Rodriguez performed their own version of the Trump dance on Sunday, following San Francisco’s Nick Bosa who repeated his Trump dance from last week.
This can only mean it’s about to become the latest battle in the long-running culture wars. Congrats, NFL. From kneeling with Colin Kaepernick to the Trumpettes, you’ve come a long way, baby.
Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers scores a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) In my newly created role as the Chicago Tribune’s sports culture and end zone dance expert, I’ve been asked to chime in on the latest dance craze.
My immediate reaction was: “Meh, who cares?” Unlike many of my friends and colleagues who are aghast at the celebration, I’m all in on the Trump dance. One hundred percent, as they say. It’s better that an athlete puts their political views out there in plain sight than to pretend they’re neutral just to avoid potential backlash from fans who might disagree with their stance.
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Modern-day athletes with large social media followings know they can say or do whatever they want and live with the consequences, as long as their employers don’t mind. The worst that can happen is they get fined, like Bosa was by the NFL for crashing a TV interview in a MAGA hat . An $11,255 fine for him was chump change, and he said he was glad to do it.
We’re fully in the “Twilight Zone” of American sports and politics. Things can change on a dime, and what you thought was OK last year is already obsolete. “Shut up and dribble,” was the message conservatives sent to LeBron James when the NBA star spoke out during the Kaepernick era.
Now they’re singing “Everybody Dance Now” to celebrate the new in-your-face etiquette. Maybe you’re thinking that some of those players’ fan base may not be in the mood for the Trump dance? Only half the nation voted for him, after all. Silly you.
Why would an NFL player care what anyone else thinks? It could even help him in name recognition or jersey sales. Bosa’s jersey sales reportedly soared after Commissioner Roger Goodell made him a MAGA martyr. Who knew? I sincerely hope the NFL doesn’t try to crack down on the Trumpettes.
They’re only expressing their First Amendment right to speak their minds, which was still in the United States Constitution when this story went to press. And if you can’t speak your mind by dancing, then “Footloose” was all for nothing. Like every viral video, we’ll all grow sick of the copycat tributes from fellow players in the coming weeks, even some of the 49% of Americans who voted for Trump.
Our collective attention span demands something new and fun to post on TikTok, and the shelf life of the Trump dance will soon end. For that reason, the NFL players might try some of these other end zone celebrations that can spread the news while also paying tribute to the current zeitgeist: The Elon Musk: Jump up and down with your fists in the air like a 5-year-old after inhaling a packet of Nerds. The RFK Jr.
: Lay down in the end zone on your stomach and emulate a dead bear ditched in Central Park. The JD Vance: Lay back on the field with hands behind your head like you’re lying on a couch. The Morning Joe: Get down on the ground and curl up in a fetal position with your thumb in your mouth like a crying baby.
The Mike Tyson and Jake Paul: Shadow box with your teammates in the end zone, carefully avoiding connecting punches, then ending in a big, group hug. I’m sure NFL players are creative enough to come up with more dances while letting us know where they stand on societal issues. Let’s see what they’ve got.
Everybody dance now..
