Ja’Marr Chase’s punishment for unsportsmanlike conduct has now harmed him financially.
The Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver was fined $31,599 on Saturday for an emotional outburst toward a referee during his team’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
The Bengals were at the Chiefs 34-yard line when Joe Burrow found Chase for a 4-yard completion.
As Chase stood up to walk to the huddle, he scolded referee Alex Kemp for tackling Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Chase was dragged back into the huddle and Burrow shoved the star wide receiver away after Kemp’s penalty. This halted any momentum the Bengals had built up to that point and led to an Evan McPherson field goal.
The Chiefs finally won 26:25.
Kemp said officials told Chase they did not consider McDuffie’s tackle a hip-drop violation that would have resulted in a penalty.
“It’s pretty clear,” Kemp said of the reasoning behind Chase’s penalty. “It was just insulting a referee. That’s all it was. And there was really no interpretation. I’m not going to repeat what he said, but there was no interpretation of the language he used. Just insulting.”
TRAVIS KELCES TV CO-STAR SAYS THE CHIEFS SUPERSTAR WOULD DO ‘VERY WELL’ IN HOLLYWOOD
“The simple answer is foul language used by grown men as opposed to direct, personal insults directed at a referee,” Kemp added. “That’s the line. When that line is crossed, we simply cannot allow it in professional football.”
The NFL accused Chase of verbally abusing a referee.
It was a tough loss for Cincinnati, which has an 0-2 record after missing the playoffs last year, largely due to Burrow’s season-ending injury.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Bengals have to get it right and they will likely do so on Monday night when they host Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital Sports coverage on Xand subscribe the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.