Not only does Stephen A. Smith think Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase deserves a suspension, he thinks the punishment should be harsher than just sitting out Sunday’s Week 12 game. Smith thinks it should be a multi-game penalty.
“It should be an automatic two-game suspension,” Smith said Monday on ESPN’s First Take. “Automatic one is for the spitting. Another is for telling a bald-face lie because he was lying. It’s clear as day.”
Chase was not flagged or ejected after spitting on Pittsburgh Steelers FS Jalen Ramsey in the fourth quarter of yesterday’s game. Only Ramsey, who responded with a punch, was punished with an ejection. After the Steelers’ 34-12 win, Chase denied spitting on Ramsey, but video proves he did. Bizarrely, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor praised Chase for keeping his cool in the moment.
Most in the NFL expect Chase to be suspended for one game. That has been the league’s stance on spitting. In Week 1, Philadelphia Eagles DL Jalen Carter was ejected before the first offensive snap for spitting on Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. Because Carter effectively missed the entire game, the NFL treated that as a de facto one-game suspension. Lying, egregious as it is, isn’t going to warrant further punishment.
“The NFL has to send a message,” Smith said of Chase.
The question will be if Ramsey is also banished from Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears. He could receive a suspension for throwing the punch one week after Washington Commanders DL Daron Payne punched an opposing player and was suspended for Week 11 because of it. Or the league could feel Chase’s spit that prompted the punch along with Ramsey’s ejection doesn’t require Ramsey to miss more on-field action, though a hefty fine is waiting even in a “best case” scenario.
With the Bengals’ season virtually over, a Chase suspension would hurt Cincinnati less than if Pittsburgh is without Ramsey against the Chicago Bears.
The NFL is likely to announce its decision later Monday. Any punishments are able to be appealed.
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