Cara Owsley/ The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The league has suspended Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase after he spit on Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey in Week 11.
Chase will now try to appeal the suspension, but if he fails he will be forced to miss the Week 12 game against the New England Patriots.
Chase is going to have a tough time winning the appeal, as there is clear video evidence that he spit on Ramsey, which led to the Steelers’ veteran cornerback punching him and getting ejected.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Chase’s defense is an odd one.
He is going to argue that if he were to spit on Ramsey, he would’ve spit in his face, not on his jersey or on the field.
“My understand is (Chase) is going to appeal, with his argument essentially being, as far as I understand, if he was going to spit on Jalen Ramsey, he would have spit in the face rather than just on the floor or on the jersey,” Rapoport reported.
Yeah, good luck with that.
There is no doubt that Chase spit on Ramsey’s jersey. It is clear as day in the video.
Field-level view of the second altercation between Ja’Marr Chase and Jalen Ramsey. Chase said “I didn’t spit on nobody.”
The video clearly shows he did.#Bengals @FOX19 pic.twitter.com/ooGzInoPdS
This is just a bad look all around for Chase.
It’s bad enough he spit on someone and then lied about it, but now he’s going to go lie yet again in his appeal when it’s crystal clear he is guilty.
Chase should just take it on the chin, accept his punishment and keep it moving.
Mike Moraitis is a freelance writer who covers the NFL for the Sporting News. Over his nearly two decades covering sports, Mike has also worked for Bleacher Report, USA TODAY and FanSided. He hates writing in the third person.