NFL Official Levies Serious Accusations Against Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase lost his cool in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 26-25 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Chase, who expressed his frustration with the way Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie had tackled him, had to be restrained by quarterback Joe Burrow, but that didn’t prevent him from drawing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that pushed the Bengals from a third-and-7 to a third-and-22.

CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson said during the broadcast that Chase believed McDuffie used an illegal hip-drop tackle to bring him down, though video replay shows he did not.

Though he was asked several times about what he said to the official that drew the flag, Chase refused to talk about the situation. However, official Alex Kemp explained what happened in a pool report following the game.

“It’s pretty clear cut,” Kemp said, via The Athletic . “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 acknowledged that the incident with Chase initially started because he wanted clarification on McDuffie’s tackle. Once he was informed by the official that McDuffie didn’t use a hip-drop tackle, Chase went off.

“The simple answer is, profanity used by grown men versus direct, personal abusive language towards a game official — that’s the line,” Kemp added. “When that line gets crossed, we simply can’t let that happen in pro football.”

Related: Pressure Mounts for Roger Goodell to Make Changes Following Bengals-Chiefs Game