Pittsburgh defensive back Jalen Ramsey said Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase spit on him, leading the Steelers player to hit the Bengals’ star receiver during their game Sunday.
Ramsey was ejected for throwing the punch with about 13 minutes remaining in the host Steelers’ 34-12 victory.
“He spit on me,” Ramsey, 31, said after the match, emphasizing that he was OK with the trash talk between the two, but Chase crossed the finish line.
“I actually enjoy that (talking) part of the game. I think people know that,” Ramsey said. “I’m sure the NFL will do their due diligence. They have 100 cameras. They can investigate. They can see everything. … They should be able to pull him up and see that he spit and it’s after that, to be honest. I was still a little too nice, if I’m being honest with you.”
Chase, 25, denied Ramsey’s version of the incident.
“I never opened my mouth to that guy,” Chase said after the match. “I didn’t spit on anyone.”
As for what made Ramsey try to hit him, Chase said, “Well, he doesn’t like some of the words I said to him. We went back and forth the whole time. So I’m sure something got under his skin.”
The veteran players had clashed verbally during the game and both were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct a play earlier when Ramsey said Chase tried to block him.
Ramsey called the first incident “just a little scuffle” when Chase removed his mouthpiece from his face mask and pushed Chase’s face mask. Both men were warned by officials that a similar punishment would result in expulsion.
“We had just spoken to the refs,” Ramsey said afterward. “I’m not going to do something again to get thrown out of the game. The refs were just calling us a play before. If you use common sense, you’ll know, hey, he wasn’t doing it again for no reason. You know what I mean?”
But then, during a timeout before the next play, things escalated with the alleged spitting incident. Ramsey threw Chase’s helmet and grabbed his mask. They were separated by players from both teams and given compensatory unsportsmanlike penalties, with Ramsey automatically disqualified for the punch.
Referee Bill Vinovich told a pool reporter that officials did not see Chase spit on Ramsey.
“Obviously we didn’t,” Vinovich said. “We haven’t seen anything at all that rises to that level.”
Ramsey, primarily a cornerback during his 10-year career, was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and three times first-team All-Pro. Chase is a four-time Pro Bowl selection in his fifth season. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2024.
–Field level media
