The Rice University Neologisms Database

not allowing an athlete under contract to continue playing, therefore they are still being paid for not playing The term actually derived in 2003, when the head coach for the Keyshawn Johnson’s team suspended him for “detrimental acts of indecency” which in turn “led to a misrepresentation of the team and logo’s character.” Johnson therefore was suspended from playing, yet NFL rules would only allow the coach to inflict only a certain level of punishment for contracted players. Therefore, on behalf of the team, the coach decided to pay the monetary amount of Johnson’s contract even though he would not play with the team. The circumstances surrounding the coining of keyshawning, provides inference into why the word is used today. Although this was not the first incident of this practice in the NFL, the widespread media coverage and notoriety of Keyshawn Johnson bought the event to the attention of millions of people. As often in the English language people tend to favor comparing certain events with past events which can be easily remembered. For example the phrase go postal, derived from an incident in which an armed postal worker walked into the post station he worked in, and opened fire on everyone inside. Terms such as keyshawning, therefore, help to categorize events to make them understandable to everyone. Sport fans especially will popularize the phrase, as more incidents of this practice come about.