There was a bit of chaos late in the third quarter Sunday at Acrisure Stadium between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals, centered on the scuffle between safety Jalen Ramsey and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
Ramsey was ejected for throwing a punch, and after the game stated that Chase spit on him, something that Chase adamantly denied post-game. Video says otherwise, clearing showing that Chase spit on Ramsey.
Now we wait to see if the NFL will suspend Chase. In the meantime, one former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver is not happy with Chase’s spitting, nor is he happy with the way he handled things after the Steelers’ 34-12 win.
“You know I’m rarely critical of players. Very rarely. It takes a lot for me to be critical of someone. But this is one of those situations where I gotta let Chase know, you’re dead wrong, boy,” Johnson said Sunday night on Nightcap, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “As much as I love you, you can’t do that. You can’t do that. You can be angry, you can be mad. You can say what you wanna say to a player on the field.
“But you can’t spit on nobody, bro. Young bull, you can’t spit on nobody.”
Chase and Ramsey had been going at it all game. It started in the first half when Ramsey delivered a big hit on an incompletion to Chase, leading to the two having words. It continued throughout the game until right before that moment in the third quarter.
One play prior to the ejection of Ramsey, both players were assessed offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for a dustup on a third-down play. That seemed to be the end of it, at least for the moment. But facing a 4th and 1, the Bengals called timeout, and Chase and Ramsey were seen jawing at each other once again.
Then Ramsey swung at Chase, landing a blow and grabbing the receiver’s facemask. In the moment, it seemed like Ramsey lost his cool. But video later showed Chase spit on Ramsey, leading to the veteran safety going off. Ramsey was pointed with his post-game comments, stating he was cool with all the back-and-forth talk but that once Chase spit on him it wasn’t about football anymore.
Chase, of course, denied spitting, even though there is clear video evidence.
“Just own it. Just say my emotions…’Hey, Jalen, I’m sorry. My emotions got the best of me,'” Johnson said of Chase. “‘When emotions are high, logic is low Ram. ‘I’m sorry. I let my emotions get the best of me. Y’all, I was wrong. I was dead wrong for what I did.'”
If Chase had just owned it and apologized like Johnson said he should have, maybe the backlash isn’t as severe right now. Instead, Chase doubled down with the denial and now is likely going to be suspended a game by the league.
Of course, a public apology wouldn’t have stopped that suspension, but it would have helped take some of the air out of the situation. Spitting on another man is the lowest thing you can do. Lying about it publicly and denying it even further makes it all that much worse.
Recommended for you