Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase revisited one of the most memorable images from his career during a media availability on November 12, ahead of the team’s home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The photograph showed Chase making an obscene gesture toward then-Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick during a tense game in 2022.
Asked whether he had signed copies of the viral picture, Chase confirmed that he had—and said he liked it. But when the conversation shifted to whether he would repeat the gesture, he sounded less certain.
“I love it,” Chase said. “I want to do it again, but I don’t want to get fined. So I love it, though, but it’s a cool picture, though. Honestly, it’s really, really cool, though.”
His hesitation came with good reason. Chase had previously faced fines for an on-field gesture, and he made clear that avoiding another penalty mattered to him. Still, he did not rule out repeating the gesture if the circumstances felt significant enough.
“If it was the Super Bowl, yes,” he said. “Yeah, I would, yeah, yeah, yeah. I would definitely do that again, yeah.”
Chase also joked that he might need to ask Chad to cover the cost if he did it during an AFC Championship Game. When he asked the reporter whether they would pay the fine if he made a similar gesture, the reporter said they would. Chase took the exchange in good humor, though he also acknowledged that he could not explain why he had made the gesture toward Fitzpatrick in the first place.
## The gesture followed a heated Bengals-Steelers game
The photograph came during the Bengals’ 2022 season opener, a 23–20 overtime loss to Pittsburgh. Although the image can look like a celebration, Chase later described his mood around that game as frustration rather than simple excitement.
The contest was marked by tension between the divisional rivals. Chase was called out several times for taunting Steelers players and was also involved in an incident in which he pulled the mouthpiece from Pittsburgh defensive back Ahkello Witherspoon. Chase acknowledged that this was not the first time he had done something like that, but said it was the first time he had been caught.
The gesture was not the only on-field action that brought Chase under the NFL’s disciplinary process. In Week 2, he was fined twice, with each fine set at $14,926, for an “obscene gesture” that resembled the WWE’s “People’s Elbow.” The two penalties totaled $29,852.
Chase appealed the fines and successfully challenged them. He explained that the move was a celebration he had developed with a teammate and argued that the league had interpreted his actions in the worst possible way. His comments about the Fitzpatrick photograph reflected a similar awareness of how a gesture could be viewed—and how costly it could become.
## Chase ranks the Chiefs above the Steelers as rivals
The conversation also turned to how Chase views the Bengals’ rivalry with Pittsburgh compared with Cincinnati’s matchups against the Kansas City Chiefs. Chase said the Steelers rank among the Bengals’ significant rivals, but he would not place them at the top of his list. He also made clear that he considers Kansas City a more prominent rival.
“It’s up there. I wouldn’t put it No. 1; I don’t have anybody No. 1, but it’s pretty up there, I would say,” Chase said of Pittsburgh. He added that the Chiefs were “way higher” than the Steelers in his rivalry ranking.
The Bengals and Chiefs had played around 35 times, with Cincinnati winning roughly half of those matchups. Although Kansas City is not a divisional opponent, the teams’ history gives their meetings added significance. Their paths could cross again in the playoffs if both remain in contention.
Chase’s remarks offered a mix of humor and restraint. He clearly enjoys the photograph and understands why it has remained memorable, but he also knows that repeating the gesture could bring another fine. For now, he left open the possibility of doing it again in a major game—while making it clear that the moment would have to be worth the cost.
