Chase Says NFL Fined Bengals Teammates Over Celebration

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase said the NFL fined him and teammate Tee Higgins over an elbow gesture they used during a game against the Houston Texans, and that he hopes to appeal. Chase described the celebration as a wrestling move they invented and a signal for a first down. The reports do not establish that he has filed an appeal. The reported combined fine is $89,556. A breakdown attributed to The Athletic says Higgins was fined four times and Chase twice, but the players’ fine notices and the precise conduct and amounts are not included in the reports. The NFL has not provided a direct statement in the supplied accounts confirming the details. Some reports describe fines, while another also says the players received unsportsmanlike penalties; it is unclear whether those refer to separate stages or events. Chase said the gesture was intended as a wrestling tribute and that people could interpret it differently. One account said the NFL reportedly considered the movement sexually suggestive, but the reporting does not establish the league’s stated basis for the fines.