Packers' Josh Jacobs says handcuff-style touchdown celebration honored a gospel song, not his arrest
Photo: The Guardian USGreen Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs scored on a one-yard run in the second quarter of a 27-19 Thursday night win over the Carolina Panthers, then briefly placed his hands behind his back while teammates congratulated him. Some viewers believed he was simulating being handcuffed, and the clip drew wide attention on social media. Jacobs said the gesture was part of a planned celebration inspired by the gospel song "Break Every Chain," developed with receiver Savion Williams and other receivers before his season debut, and that he did not expect it to be read as mocking his arrest. The gesture came months after charges were filed in August over a May altercation with his then-girlfriend, who said he threw her to the ground. Jacobs pleaded no contest last month to misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property, and he was returning from the commissioner's exempt list in only his second game of the season. He said his planned follow-up celebration, a thank-you to God after his first touchdown, took place Sunday.
Left-leaning coverage, led by The Guardian US, opens with Jacobs's account that he was paying homage to a gospel song rather than making light of his arrest, then lays out the charges, the no-contest plea and the exempt-list history. Its headline says the celebration was not mocking the arrest. The alternative outlet ESPN's excerpt follows the same framing, noting that Jacobs said he was surprised the celebration was seen as mocking. Right-leaning coverage includes the Daily Mail and the New York Post. Both report the same game, touchdown and explanation. The Daily Mail's headline says Jacobs denies mocking a domestic violence arrest and calls him disgraced. Its story emphasizes the handcuff-like motion, the league's domestic abuse investigation and six missed games, and Jacobs's complaint that the broadcast showed only about a second of the sequence. The New York Post's headline says the celebration infuriated fans, a point the Guardian does not make. The sides agree on the core facts; they differ mainly in headline wording and in how prominently they stress the handcuff imagery and the arrest.
How the sides differ Left sources stress Jacobs's gospel explanation and legal history; right sources frame it as mockery of an arrest and criticize the broadcast.
Headline, comparison and summary written by AI from the articles below. AI can make mistakes, so check the original articles before relying on a detail.
The Guardian US leads with Jacobs's gospel-song explanation and says the gesture was not mocking his arrest. It then details the August charges, May altercation and no-contest plea.
ESPN's excerpt reports Jacobs's surprise that the celebration was seen as mocking his May arrest and frames it as an ode to a gospel song.
The Daily Mail headline says Jacobs denies mocking a domestic violence arrest and calls him disgraced, stressing the handcuff motion and the broadcast. The New York Post headline says the celebration infuriated fans.