Mike Tomlin's message to Jalen Ramsey after he punched Ja'Marr Chase? 'I have no message if someone spits in your face'
Mike Tomlin was asked Tuesday if he advised Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey to try to remove himself from a situation like the one Ramsey found himself in when he punched now-suspended Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase early in the fourth quarter this past Sunday.
"I have no message if someone spits in your face," Tomlin said Tuesday before pausing briefly.
He then added: "Do what comes natural."
Ramsey, a three-time All-Pro cornerback who has stepped up at safety and emerged as a Steelers leader in his first year with the team, threw a punch after Chase spit on him with a bit more than 12 minutes remaining in a 34-12 Pittsburgh victory at Acrisure Stadium over the weekend.
Field-level view of the second altercation between Ja'Marr Chase and Jalen Ramsey. Chase said "I didn't spit on nobody."
- Austin Briski (@austin_briski) November 16, 2025
The video clearly shows he did.#Bengals@FOX19pic.twitter.com/ooGzInoPdS
Ramsey was ejected, whereas Chase remained in the game, as the officials did not see Chase spitting on Ramsey. Chase denied spitting postgame, but a field-level video taken by FOX 19 WXIX-TV shows the inciting incident, which followed an intense back and forth between the standout skill players.
A play before Ramsey's ejection, they had both received unsportsmanlike penalties. Ramsey said Chase tried to crackback block him, per ESPN. But Chase spitting escalated the situation even more.
"He spit on me," Ramsey said postgame, via ESPN. "I don't give a f*** about football after that, respectfully. I'm always going to be all for trash talking, s*** talking, things like that. I actually enjoy that part of the game. I think that people know that. ... We were talking s***, which I'm cool with. And then as soon as he spit, it was f*** that. ... I'm sure the NFL, they'll do their due diligence.
"They've got 100 cameras out there. They can investigate. They can see everything. ... They should be able to pull it up and see that he spit and it's whatever after that, to be honest. I was still a little too nice if I'm keeping it honest with you."
While Chase declined to speak to media Monday, according to multiplereports, his head coach, Zac Taylor, did. Taylor didn't condone the four-time Pro Bowler's actions this past Sunday, but he did defend the 25-year-old receiver's character.
I think Ja'Marr Chase will go down as one of my favorite all-time players and favorite all-time leaders and everything he is about," Taylor said Monday. "It's like we're trying to make something out of this situation. It's the only thing that's kind of upset me as I'm sitting in here.
"... I'm not perfect. Trust me, I made plenty of mistakes yesterday people don't see on camera. Unfortunately, his was. And so he's going to have to own up for that. That will be part of his journey."
Taylor added: "This will be the beginning of his career in a lot of ways. We're going to move past that, and he's a guy that we're going to continue to depend on. He's a guy I'll put at the forefront of any leadership group I ever have for the rest of my life. When I retire, I'll bring Ja'Marr Chase in as a board member of whatever leadership board I create to talk to people I want him to talk to. I hope you understand my position on this because he's a guy who's done everything he possibly could to help us win and do things the right way."
The NFL announced Monday that Chase has been suspended for one game without pay. While Chase is reportedly appealing the ruling, he is set to miss the 3-7 Bengals' Week 12 home game versus the New England Patriots.
Before the first play from scrimmage during the league's season opener, Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting at Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. The NFL fined Carter $57,222, but, because he essentially missed the full game, it deemed his ejection as his one-game suspension.