It seems like the NFL is fining the players left, right, and center for celebrating unconventionally, and it was time for a popular duo to join the list. What the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver duo Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase thought was a celebration, as fans of WWE do, has been treated as an “obscene gesture” by the NFL.
All seemed normal as the Bengals were constantly celebrating their plays and touchdowns against the Houston Texans in what was a dominant 20-6 win for the Bengals. However, the NFL didn’t take “The People’s Elbow” celebration of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson lightly, fining them a total of $89,556 for repeating the “obscene gesture,” as mentioned in the NFL’s accountability section.
There were a total of six fines filed against the wide receiver duo, four of them for Higgins, who celebrated after his first-down catches. The gesture, which Jonathan Jones of The Athletic described as a celebration that “can be interpreted as resembling a phallus,” was made twice by Chase, including the time he celebrated his 32-yard catch in the second quarter, which is in contention for being the catch of the season, bringing his total to $29,852.
“I’m a fan of WWE, the people’s elbow, and we just threw in a first-down celebration with it,” Higgins explained on the Up & Adams Show. “Unfortunately, we did get the letter. Everybody on the internet is making it seem like something that it isn’t.”
While Higgins acknowledged the fine, he also clarified his intentions regarding what he and Chase were doing. Higgins was fined a total of four times, bringing his total to a whopping $59,704. These four fines bring his fine count to five, as earlier in 2020, Higgins was fined $9,291 for dunking a ball over the goalpost against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“We got fined for the people’s elbow stuff,” Chase said, according to Jay Morrison of AP. “I would love to appeal it. It’s something we made up, and then everybody else saying what it is. Everybody’s gonna have their own opinion of what it looked like.”
Chase has been fined a total of six times by the NFL for various infractions, with his total fines amounting to $613,162. One of Chase’s fines includes him showing two middle fingers at the Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in 2022.
Chase’s unsportsmanlike conduct, according to the league, stretched so far that he spat on the Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey last season, which cost him a game and $507,156.
Now that the duo has received the fines, they are reportedly “back in the lab,” finding another celebration for themselves. Though a $90k combined fine is a lot, the NFL has fined multiple players this season for celebrating in a way that the league finds offensive.
Ja’Marr Chase Is Not Happy Amid the NFL Fining Players Over Celebrations
The two Bengals wide receivers are now part of the bunch who have already faced the consequences for doing inappropriate celebrations. San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk also received a total of $29,852 in fines for mimicking chugging a drink, which he later clarified was just a gesture of him drinking “juice,” also his nickname.
But the fine-policing doesn’t end here. Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown received a total of $59,704, the same as Higgins, for repeatedly puffing on an imaginary cigarette; Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams were also fined after the players pretended to smoke a joint after acting as if they were passing it to each other.
“It’s not good, man,” St. Brown said, according to the Detroit Free Press, further showing willingness to appeal the call. Chase referenced these fines and urged the players to address this with the NFLPA.
“I think this is where the superstars have to get in with the NFLPA and fight for our money because if he’s getting fined for doing a drinking gesture,” Chase said. “A juice gesture, and I’m getting fined for an elbow and doing the first-down thing; I don’t know.”
While Chase was frustrated by the NFL’s decision, the fines stand, and the wide receiver duo will now have to be more careful while celebrating their plays. Meanwhile, the Bengals, who look as steady as ever in their opening games, are up 2-0 and will play the Steelers on Sunday.