When Paul Pierce menaced the Atlanta bench with an alleged gang sign a few months back during a game (and before he became America’s sweetheart), it put all leagues on notice. In particular, the NFL has taken an especially hard stance against throwin’ ‘em up since the Denver Broncos’ Darrent Williams was killed last year by known gang members. They’ve brought in people to examine game tapes to see if any players are flashing signs after they score a touchdown or cause a concussion, although there’s no truth to the rumor that the monitors are all Vice-Principals from the LAUSD.

“There have been some suspected things we’ve seen,” said Milt Ahlerich, the league’s vice president of security. “When we see it, we quietly jump on it immediately, directly with the team and the player or employee involved to cease and desist. Period.”

But as with everything player-related, scrutinizing behavior is a slippery slope. Let’s let Dennis Northcutt explain.

“Guys come from all over the country, and who knows what they’re really doing?” said Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Dennis Northcutt, adding he cannot remember seeing a gang gesture in his nine NFL seasons.

“People have got signs for their kids, signs for their fraternities. How do you differentiate who’s really throwing up gang signs?” Northcutt gave an example. “This is a gang sign,” he said, touching his index finger to his thumb to form a squished OK sign. “But at the same time, it’s a sign for a personnel group.”

Ooh, like Adecco, or CareerTemps? Could you let us know? Getting a job nowadays is so tough, we’d love to know the secret gang sign that gets us that Assistant job with benefits. We think this green thing on our foot is getting bigger.

Concerned about gang signs, NFL reviews tapes [LA Times]
Image [boston.com]