NFL denies Chase's appeal of 1-game suspension

The NFL denied the appeal of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase after he was given a one-game suspension for spitting on Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey, league official Michael Signora announced Tuesday.

Chase will miss Sunday's game against the New England Patriots and forfeit $507,156 in salary.

Ramsey was ejected from the game for taking a swing at Chase, but video showed evidence that Chase spit on Ramsey beforehand. The star wideout's argument in the appeal was that if he was going to spit on Ramsey, he would've spit in his face, not on his jersey, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

"I have no message if someone spits in your face. Do what comes natural," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters Tuesday when asked how a player should react to being spit on.

Chase leads the NFL with 79 catches and ranks third with 861 receiving yards.