Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has been… fined $31,599 by the NFL for unsportsmanlike conduct after lashing out at referee Alex Kemp during the team’s 26-25 Week 2 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Chase wasn’t happy after being tackled by Trent McDuffie. The Bengals wide receiver wanted a penalty for a hip-drop tackle, a technique that was banned this season. McDuffie was not penalized for the play nor was he among the fines announced by the NFL on Saturday.
Chase was tackled after a 4-yard reception that should have left the Bengals on third-and-7 at the Chiefs’ 30-yard line in the fourth quarter at Arrowhead Stadium. Instead of returning to the huddle, Chase jumped up and confronted Kemp.
While it’s unclear what specifically was said, Kemp said that’s when Chase crossed the line.
“The simple answer is: profanity used by grown men versus direct and personal abusive language towards a game referee,” Kemp said. By ESPN’s Ben Babywhen asked about the difference between abuse and simple disagreements on the pitch. “That’s the line. When that line is crossed, we simply cannot allow that to happen in professional football.”
Things got so bad at one point during the matchup, eventually forcing the Bengals to settle for a field goal that put them up by two points early in the fourth quarter, that quarterback Joe Burrow shoved Chase hard to keep him away from Kemp and the officials.
“I’m just trying to calm the situation down,” Burrow told ESPN. “I’m not entirely sure what was said or who threw the flag.”
Chase declined to address the penalty after the game.
“I’m not going to talk about that,” Chase said when asked.
As for the tackle that angered Chase in the first place, Kemp said the referees thought it was a legal move.
“We let him know we didn’t think it was a hip-drop tackle,” Kemp said, via ESPN.
Chase finished with 35 yards on four receptions in the loss, which saw the Bengals fall to 0-2 on the season. The Chiefs, thanks in part to a fourth-down pass interference call on their final drive, kicked a 51-yard field goal to clinch the one-point victory.