Ja'Marr Chase Faces Heat For Seemingly Refusing To Apologize Directly To Jalen Ramsey After Spitting Incident

Ja'Marr Chase disgusted NFL fans nationwide after spitting at Pittsburgh Steelers player Jalen Ramsey during a recent game, and now, he claims to be taking accountability for his actions. However, in the recent apology post he shared online addressing his deplorable behavior, the Cincinnati Bengals player didn't apologize directly to his target, sparking even more controversy and questions about the sincerity of his statement.

For those unfamiliar, Chase came under fire last Sunday after a clip of him spitting at Ramsey went viral. Following the incident, Ramsey struck Chase across the helmet, grabbed his facemask, and aggressively yanked him around the field before NFL officials could break things up.

Ramsey was ejected from the game and spoke with reporters afterward, saying he didn't care about the repercussions that would come from fighting Chase.

Chase, on the other hand, initially denied the reports, saying he "never" spoke to Ramsey and that he certainly "didn't spit on nobody."

Video evidence proved that Chase lied about his role in his on-field scuffle with Ramsey, ultimately leading to his one-game suspension and the loss of more than $500,000.

NFL fans wasted no time criticizing Chase online, and they weren't alone, as Super Bowl champion Shannon Sharpe also let the wide receiver have it for doing one of the "most disrespectful things you can do" to a person.

"You're telling me I'm the ground. That's the lowest thing you can do—and he lied," Sharpe told his co-host, Chad Johnson, on an episode of their shared podcast, "Nightcap."

Johnson also chimed in, calling Chase's actions "dead wrong" before expressing his disappointment in the LSU alum.

"As much as I love you, you can't do that," Johnson continued. "You can't do that. You can be angry. You can be mad. You can say what you wanna to say to a player on the field, but you can't spit on nobody."

On Monday, November 24, more than a week after video showed Chase spitting at Ramsey, he acknowledged his actions in a lengthy post on Instagram.

"Please know I am speaking from my heart when I say I take full responsibility for my actions during last Sunday's game at Pittsburgh," he wrote. "What I did was wrong. The circumstances don't matter. My passion for the game is no excuse. There's no place in our sport—or in life—for that level of disrespect."

Chase went on to apologize to the Steelers organization, his coaches, and his teammates for "not meeting my own standards as a leader of this team."

In his apology, Chase never acknowledged Ramsey directly, a move spectators noticed instantly and quickly called out.

Chase disabled comments on his latest post, prompting many NFL followers to express their thoughts on his statement across different social media platforms, including X.

"Man, he don't mean that sh-t," someone wrote. "Apologized to everyone except dude he spit on," another posted.

"Forgot to mention Jalen Ramsey? Forgot to admit lying?" a third user shared.

"How come he didn't apologize for lying about not spitting?" a fourth user questioned, while a fifth wrote, "Great ChatGPT apology."

Chase is the second NFL player this season to face intense scrutiny for spitting at another player.

Philadelphia Eagles player Jalen Carter was tossed from the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys for spitting at Dak Prescott.

Chase's actions clearly struck a nerve with many, including Steelers veteran Cam Heyward.

During an earlier interview, he seemed to call for Chase's removal from the league, saying that such behavior doesn't "belong in the game."

"We don't ever want to see guys kicked out, but when one of our guys gets treated like that, I feel like he just handled it the right way," he said. "Two competitors, but one guy took it too far. Our guy got penalized, but if you're going to spit on a guy, you don't belong in the game. Hopefully the NFL handles it."