NFL Referees Association issues statement on Ja’Marr Chase unsportsmanlike conduct penalty
In the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after sharing words with an official. Monday afternoon, Scott Green – executive director of the NFL Referees Association – weighed in.
Chase was unhappy with referee Alex Kemp after not getting a flag on a play with 10:27 to go. He made his thoughts clear, and Kemp assessed a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. The drive ended with a Bengals field goal.
Green praised the way Kemp handled the incident, he said in a statement. He also said the official responded accordingly because Chase used abusive language, which lines up with what Kemp said afterward.
“The situation was well handled by Alex Kemp, and it was the appropriate response,” Green said, via NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
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According to Pelissero, Chase is likely to face a fine for the incident. The former LSU star declined to comment on the situation after the game, which the Bengals lost 26-25 on a last-second field goal from Harrison Butker.
More on Ja’Marr Chase’s penalty
After a tackle on an important drive for Cincinnati, Chase got after the official in a way that earned him a crucial penalty. As he continued, it led to an exchange between him and Joe Burrow as the Bengals’ quarterback tried to calm his leading receiver down somehow.
Based on the speculation and reporting for the broadcast by CBS, Chase felt as though Trent McDuffie had committed a hip-drop tackle against him in coverage. However, it appears he was the only one who felt that way.
The flag pushed Cincinnati back 15 yards in a key moment in the game. That’s when Burrow got involved with him pushing away and holding him back from the official in the exchange.
It could have been even more costly had it kept the Bengals from scoring on the drive. However, Evan McPherson was still able to take the lead with a made kick from 53 yards out.
After the game, Kemp spoke with a pool reporter about the incident. He said it was a fairly easy decision considering the nature of what Chase said.
“It’s pretty clear cut,” Kemp said. “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.”