On Monday night, something egregious was done, but explaining it might take a little bit of setup. On a regulation football team, there is a hard cap on how many players you can have signed and ready to show up. Our protagonist, Cassius Marsh, used to be on the Pittsburgh Steelers but was cut from the team and found his way onto the practice squad for the Chicago Bears.

On Monday, November 8th, Cassius would have his revenge, as he was elevated from the practice squad to fully active playing in the game against his former team, giving him the resolution in his Joker Arc. Unfortunately, his arc wouldn't end that night, as just when he made a critical play that would have given the Chicago Bears a high chance of winning, the referee nearby did something questionable: He called a foul for "taunting."

This is a foul that has been cracked down on a lot this year, and it has some steep penalties attached to it, and the end result of this foul call was the Chicago Bears losing the game. But the thing is, people are pretty sure what he did doesn't count as taunting, at least looking at the backlash online following the call.

NFL ref Tony Corrente should be suspended from the league. He made completely unprovoked physical contact with an NFL player and then called a bullshit taunting penalty that likely cost the Bears a win. He changed the outcome of a game. Is he on the take from gamblers???? pic.twitter.com/Shc6FNRWYW

— yabbadabba22 (@yabbadabba221) November 9, 2021

This was just called taunting. The officiating in the NFL continues to be a disaster. This entire game has been pathetic. pic.twitter.com/08UgyGyhJC

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 9, 2021

The funny thing about the taunting rule is you can have the entire defensive unit run to the other side of the field after a turnover and that's not considered taunting pic.twitter.com/Fq6c4bgUvD

— Blake (@SoldierFieldBlg) November 9, 2021

Watt looks over to the #Bears sideline here and blows a kiss.

But this wasn’t called taunting. I’m going to be pretty upset if this game isn’t looked into @NFLOfficiating pic.twitter.com/dia4XKONwW

— Austin F (@PodGuyFuges) November 9, 2021

Fans of the NFL were quick to make memes about the unfortunate situation, as well as memes about the taunting rule in general, which has seen increased criticism by fans all year.

The referee himself, Tony Corrente, has also found himself in the middle of several memes calling him the "12th man of the Pittsburgh team" (only 11 men are allowed on the field at a time, so the ref being biased for one team counts him as the 12th player).

NFL Refs when they throw a flag for taunting pic.twitter.com/RR1pb7dBxy

— DJ Bien-Aime (@Djbienaime) November 9, 2021

NFL officials this season when determining a taunting call. pic.twitter.com/3Jyvkvnq1G

— Zach Wargo (@ZachWargo3) November 9, 2021

Live look at the bears game #taunting pic.twitter.com/SggdDAxNKH

— Blaine corley (@Blaine_corley) November 9, 2021

Goodell thinking of the new taunting rule pic.twitter.com/RI4MZPt3nv

— Clemson Carl (@ClemsonCarl) November 9, 2021

There is NO entertainment value in watching the NFLOfficiating</a> decide the outcome of games. <a href="https://twitter.com/nflcommish?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">nflcommish DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. The officiating is absolutely RIDICULOUS this year! Obvious missed calls, overuse of taunting, disparity between teams & calls. Ruining the season. pic.twitter.com/AawnRSMCQJ

— GeminiGirl | AFCEastChamps BuffaloBills (@sara_larson) November 9, 2021