Packers' Josh Jacobs says hands-behind-back touchdown celebration honored a gospel song, not his arrest

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs said Thursday night that he was honoring a gospel song, not mocking his recent arrest, when he briefly put his hands behind his back after a second-quarter one-yard touchdown in the Packers' 27-19 win over the Carolina Panthers. Jacobs said teammates joined the gesture and that he had not expected it to be seen as it was. Some viewers watching on television believed he was simulating being handcuffed, and the video drew attention on social media. Jacobs said he modeled the celebration on the song 'Break Every Chain' and planned it with receiver Savion Williams before his season debut. He was back from the commissioner's exempt list, where he had been placed after charges were filed in August over a May altercation in which his then-girlfriend said he threw her to the ground. Last month he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property. Jacobs said his planned thank-God celebration came Sunday, when he went to his knees.

The Guardian, the first left-leaning source, leads its headline with Jacobs's denial that the gesture mocked his arrest, quotes his remark that teammates 'did it with me,' and gives the plea and charge details. The New York Post, a right-leaning source, uses a nearly identical wire-style body, but its headline says he 'explains handcuff celebration that infuriated fans,' stressing fan anger. Daily Mail, the other right-leaning source, calls Jacobs 'disgraced,' says he 'claims' the celebration had religious meaning, and stresses the league investigation that kept him out for six games and his complaint that Amazon Prime Video did not show the full sequence. ESPN, the alternative source, frames the story around Jacobs's surprise that the touchdown was seen as mocking, under an 'ode to gospel song' headline; its excerpt does not cover the plea or the broadcast complaint. All sides agree on the touchdown, the score, the gospel song and Jacobs's explanation. They differ mainly in headline wording, in whether they lead with the arrest or fan reaction, and in which details they include.