Ja’Marr Chase Loses Appeal and Misses Next Game
The suspension of a game imposed on Ja’Marr Chase, star receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, for spitting at Jalen Ramsey, defensive player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was confirmed this Tuesday. This means that Chase will not be able to participate in Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots. Chase’s appeal was reviewed by Jordy Nelson, jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFL Players Association. Nelson upheld the suspension, which the league had announced on Monday. The sanction will cost Chase his weekly salary of $448,333, in addition to the loss of a bonus of $58,823 per game played. The incident occurred during the Bengals’ 34-12 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday. A video from Cincinnati’s WXIX-TV clearly showed Chase spitting in Ramsey’s direction, which led to Ramsey throwing a punch at Chase. At that moment, the referees did not detect Chase’s action before ejecting Ramsey for the hit. Chase finished the game.Chase denied spitting on Ramsey. Both players had had a previous altercation in the game, which resulted in penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct. When announcing the suspension, the NFL cited the section of the regulations that applies to “any act that is contrary to generally understood principles of sportsmanship”.We didn’t see anything that reached that level at all.
Bill Vinovich, Principal Referee
