The spitting controversy between Ja’Marr Chase and Jalen Ramsey has created one of the NFL’s most heated debates of the season, and Cam Newton made his stance clear. Newton argued that players can battle fiercely on the field, push boundaries, and test each other’s strength, but everything changes once the whistles stop.
Off the field, competitors connect on a human level, and mutual respect matters a lot there. Regardless of how heated things become, Newton believes there is a clear line no player should ever cross, and spitting is at the top of that list.
Newton placed the bulk of the blame on Chase. He said the Bengals star’s reaction during the fight exposed the truth. When Ramsey began throwing punches, Chase did almost nothing in return. He didn’t defend himself, didn’t retaliate, and didn’t even try to break free aggressively.
Newton pointed to that hesitation as a sign that Chase understood his own guilt. If Chase had been the victim, Newton argued, the response would have looked very different. Instead, Chase stood there and absorbed the punches.
“One of the guiltiest things that I also witnessed throughout this video was this: why didn’t Ja’Marr Chase throw a punch or defend himself?” Newton said on FIRST TAKE. “He knew he did something that required a response of that magnitude.” (From 4:37)
Video footage from the sideline and field angles strengthened Newton’s point. The clips show a clear spit coming from Chase toward Ramsey before the fight escalated. That made Chase’s later denial even more damaging.
When reporters asked Chase whether he spat on Ramsey, he dismissed the accusation entirely.
Stephen A. Smith Wants Ja’Marr Chase to Be Suspended
Stephen A. Smith responded forcefully when the incident was discussed on First Take. He said the league needs to issue a strong suspension to send a message across the NFL. His recommendation was a two-game ban to show that spitting cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.
Smith stressed that the action goes far beyond normal physical play and that it puts the league in a dangerous position if no firm example is set. The panel on First Take agreed with him.
“The NFL has to send a message,” Stephen A. said. “These are the kind of things that you put a stop to before they even start…You don’t do that. You have to send that kind of message. I believe it warrants a two-game suspension.”
They argued that spitting incidents invite a different level of aggression. Punches are part of the game, but spitting provokes reactions that can spiral outside the field of play. They expressed concern that if the NFL fails to act decisively now, the next confrontation may not stay confined to the sidelines.
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