Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase received a crucial unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after an emotional outburst toward a referee during the team’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Bengals were at the Chiefs’ 34-yard line when Joe Burrow found Chase for a 4-yard completion. As Chase got back up to head to the huddle, he couldn’t help but give referee Alex Kemp an earful about the tackle from Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie.
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Chase had to be dragged back to the huddle and Burrow even had to push the star wide receiver away from Kemp after the penalty. It put a halt to any momentum the Bengals were creating at the time and led to an Evan McPherson field goal.
The three points over the possibility of getting six, seven or eight was huge. The Chiefs eventually marched down the field and set up Harrison Butker for the game-winning field goal.
Kemp explained to a pool reporter what the issue was with Chase, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Kemp said officials told Chase they didn’t believe McDuffie’s tackle was of a hip-drop nature, which would have resulted in a penalty.
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"It’s pretty clear cut," he said of the reasoning for the penalty. "It’s just simply abusive language toward a game official. That’s all it was. And there was really no interpretation. I’m not going to repeat to you what he said, but there was no interpretation with the language that he used – just abusive language."
Kemp pointed out why Chase’s words crossed the line with him.
Chase was seen on the sideline upset as head coach Zac Taylor tried to calm him down. He slammed his helmet on the ground in frustration.
"The simple answer is, profanity used by grown men versus direct, personal abusive language toward a game official," Kemp said. "That’s the line. When that line gets crossed, we simply can’t let that happen in pro football."
Chase declined to talk about the incident after the game.
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