Buzz
On Monday, NFL receiver Chad Johnson was sentenced to 30 days in jail for a probation violation. The judge dismissed his plea deal, which would have spared him jail time, after she was offended by Johnson playfully tapping his lawyer’s backside.
"I don't think you're taking this situation seriously. I just saw you slap your attorney on the rear end. Is that supposed to be funny?" the Associated Press reports Judge Kathleen McHugh’s words. "The whole courtroom burst into laughter. I won’t accept these plea negotiations. This is no joke."
While gentle slaps to the back side are typical on the football field, perhaps Johnson shouldn't have tried the same move in the courtroom. So, why do athletes engage in this behavior?
The first athlete to playfully slap a teammate on the butt didn’t leave a note explaining why, but the gesture has since become a widely accepted practice in both professional and amateur sports, with many offering their own interpretations. In 2007, Johns Hopkins News-Letter editor Mary Doman asked some athletes from the school about it, gathering a variety of opinions on the so-called 'extra-low five.'
A freshman tennis player explained that the meaning of the butt slap is quite flexible and varies depending on the context and the relationship between the two involved. “Well, a good smack on the rear can mean different things,” he said. “It could be a simple ‘Nice job,’ or ‘You’ll get them next time,’ but it could also mean ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ or ‘How’s that essay coming along?’ or even ‘Wow, your butt’s looking pretty muscly today. Been working out?’
A freshman lacrosse player described the butt slap as just a variant of the classic congratulatory shoulder or back slap, but placed lower to reflect a closer bond between the players. “Teammates who aren’t very close will usually slap each other on the shoulder or upper back,” he said. “But closer teammates might go for the mid or lower back, while those who are like brothers go for the full-on butt slap.”
A freshman football player agreed that the gesture is meant to congratulate, and theorized that it works better in the fast-paced world of football. “High fives are becoming outdated. Handshakes work, but they require eye contact and take too much time,” the player explained to Doman. “A smack on the ass can happen anytime.”
A freshman fencer speculated that the butt slap is a little more complicated, symbolizing every man’s desire “to be a cowboy.”
Cowboys slap their horses on the rear to get them moving, so the fencer reasoned, “Similarly in sports, men need to bond and motivate each other as a team. It’s just part of the culture and a courteous act to slap another man’s rear if you think he’s slacking off.”
No matter what each player’s personal reason for slapping someone else’s butt, the sports world learned an important lesson this week: keep it on the field and out of more formal situations. In some places, though, even a slap during a game is considered too risqué. In 2011, two Iranian soccer players were suspended and had their pay reduced for a butt slap during a match. The national football federation’s disciplinary committee deemed the gesture an “immoral offense.”
