Mike Pettine, Joe Theismann and others react to Johnny Manziel flipping off Washington

NFL players gesturing with their middle fingers during games is nothing new. A.J. Hawk and Randy Starks both did it recently. Marshawn Lynch gave his own sideline the finger last year. Those instances generate mostly a mild response, more humor than anything else. When Johnny Manziel does it, however, the reaction is goes to a different level.

Manziel flashed a middle finger toward the Washington sideline in the Browns preseason game on Monday. The sequence came after some trash talk back and forth and lasted for all of about three seconds. Plenty of time for a few people to weigh in with hot takes.

Former players like Joe Theismann and Mark Schlereth were among those with an opinion.

Browns head coach Mike Pettine wasn’t thrilled either. After the game he said the gesture “did not sit well” with him and called it disappointing. For his part, Manziel said it was a lack of judgement. He’s been in the limelight long enough to know that is the type of thing that will get blown out of proportion. That could explain why he reacted like this when talking to a member of the Browns public relations team during the game.

Viewers watching obviously noticed, but many Washington players did not. Several were showing each other cell phone pictures of the infamous middle finger after the game, according to Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.