ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The NFL is eliminating the controversial hip-drop tackle.

At their annual meeting, NFL team owners on Monday unanimously approved a rule that bans players from using a swivel technique to tackle an opponent, a technique that’s resulted in some significant lower-body injuries.

A violation will result in a 15-yard penalty and could ultimately result in fines for players.

However, according to an ESPN report, Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, implied last week the hip-drop tackle penalty would likely be enforced like the “use of helmet” rule, which usually leads to warnings and fines in the week after a game instead of penalties during play.

NFL executive Jeff Miller said the hip-drop tackle was used 230 times last season and resulted in 15 players missing time with injuries.

Injuries caused by the hip-drop tackling technique usually happen to the lower body, like the fractured fibula and ligament damage to the left ankle sustained by Baltimore Ravens star tight end Mark Andrews in a game last November against the Cincinnati Bengals. That injury spearheaded more calls to outlaw the hip-drop tackle.

The NFL Players Association has opposed the ban, however, joining many current and former players in objecting to the NFL’s proposal. On Monday, many weighed in on social media, expressing their disdain for defensive players now being even more limited in how they can tackle ball carriers.

They say the NFL is becoming more and more like flag football.

“Just fast-forward to the flags with belts on them … ” former player and now commentator JJ Watt posted on his X feed.

Robert Griffin III, another former player-turned-commentator, posted a video to his X feed and wrote: “With the NFL unanimously voting to ban the Hip-Drop tackle, it’s only a matter of time before football as we know it, is just physical flag football.”

“It’s about to be a lot of miss (sic) tackles,” Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay joked on his X feed.

“Breaking news: Tackling Banned,” Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland posted on X.

But not everyone agrees. Some expressed their opposition to the hip-drop tackle and commended the NFL for banning it in the name of player safety.

Kyle Long, the former Chicago Bears offensive lineman, was one of those, writing on X: “I’m happy the hip drop tackle is outta the game. I’m all for the league trying to minimize the potential for serious injury. The league has a 100 percent rate of injury but the hip drop tends to be the cause of of injuries that are harder to come back from.

“Good job NFL.”