Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has won his appeals of two fines for his “people’s elbow” touchdown celebration, Ian Rapoport reported, with both $14,926 penalties from the Texans game rescinded.
According to the appeals office letter that Rapoport shared, Chase argued that even if he committed a violation, the fine should be reduced because he received no warning that the celebration was not allowed. Chase also said the move is a new celebration with a teammate, that it is not offensive, and that the league assumed the worst about him and his teammate without talking to the NFLPA.
When the fines first came down in September, Chase pushed back publicly. He said star players need to work with the NFLPA to protect their money, and he called the celebration a wrestling move rather than anything meant to draw a flag.
What the celebration was
The “people’s elbow” is a WWE move: a kneeling, theatrical elbow drop. The league treated Chase’s version as an unsportsmanlike celebration and fined him twice for it. Winning the appeal returns nearly $30,000 to Chase and leaves the door open for him to keep using the bit, or a toned-down version of it, as long as officials do not flag it again.
Chase played in Week 5 against Miami and remains the centerpiece of Cincinnati’s passing game. Getting the fines wiped removes one more distraction for a receiver who has spent much of the season in the headlines.
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