Ja'Marr Chase finally explains why he went off on a referee during Bengals' loss to Chiefs
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase didn't take too kindly to being what he believed to be hip-drop tackled by Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie last week.The play was not penalized, though a flag did get thrown after Chase used "abusive language" towards lead referee Alex Kemp following the play. Chase has since been […]
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase didn't take too kindly to being what he believed to be hip-drop tackled by Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie last week.
The play was not penalized, though a flag did get thrown after Chase used "abusive language" towards lead referee Alex Kemp following the play. Chase has since been fined for the incident.
The source of Chase's frustration from that moment, however, goes back to long before the season even began.
In an interview with ESPN's Ryan Clark, Chase explained that after an offseason of the NFL coming to the players about the hip-drop tackle and how it'll be enforced as a penalty, that it wasn't in that moment is what set him over the edge.
"It was really just, you know, they come up with us every year and they hit us with new rules and stuff like that," Chase said. "I think this year was the hip-drop tackle. I feel like if we're gonna have the opportunity to bring it to the players' attention, and y'all gonna bring it to us in meetings and make sure we on top of it and make sure there's safety for us.
"I don't know how they gonna treat it on from here and out, but if they're gonna bring it to our attention they should, you know, say something about it. If not, then I feel like we shouldn't mention it at all."
Chase declined to comment about the incident directly after the game, so this is the best answer we'll get about it.
In a nutshell: Call the penalty, or don't bring it to us as a point of emphasis.
Chase's answer indicates his issue is with the league as a whole for bringing attention to the hip-drop tackle, but failing to penalize for it with consistency. Several players this year have been fined for the infraction after the fact, but McDuffie was not in that instance.
The flag that was thrown set the Bengals back 15 yards on a drive that ended in a field goal. The Chiefs went on to win the game by one point with a field goal at the buzzer.
In a perfect world, consistency with NFL officiating is a non-issue, but we're so far from that reality. The best Chase can do is plead his case in ways that won't cost his team yardage until then.
Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase has the perfect platform on ‘Monday Night Football’ to shine again
Chase is primed to dominate in primetime.
