Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins says he and teammate Ja’Marr Chase will no longer use the unique celebration they used in the first two games of the season.
The controversial celebration became a hot topic this past weekend when Chase used it following his spectacular touchdown catch against the Houston Texans. Chase placed his elbow on his palm, then straightened his bent arm to point forward with his finger.
After the celebration went viral on social media, many people reacted, suggesting it was a lewd or vulgar gesture. On Thursday morning, an interview clip circulated online, and Chase claimed it was a reference to the “People’s Elbow,” a finishing move used by WWE superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Higgins appeared in an interview Thursday night with Kay Adams, where she brought up the celebration, saying some thought it might be “ice in the veins” or a “vitamin drip,” but Higgins said that’s not the case.
“So, I’m a fan of WWE. You know who The Rock is, right? The People’s Elbow, and we just threw in a first down celebration with it. Yeah,” he said.
“Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t know, and we did get the letter,” Higgins told Adams, also explaining, “Everybody on the internet making it seem something that it isn’t.”
Adams blasted the “stupid” internet for ending the Bengals teammates’ celebration, but Higgins shrugged it off. He said it would be “back to the lab” for him and Chase, calling, it “all good. It’s part of the game.”
On Thursday, The Athletic reported that Higgins and Chase received a combined $89,556 in fines for their apparent lewd touchdown celebration. Higgins reportedly did the celebration four times, and Chase did it twice. Each fine was $14,926.
Cincinnati is off to an undefeated start to their season, going 2-0 after games against the Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While the NFL and some fans online are labeling it an obscene gesture, both Higgins and Chase maintain it wasn’t meant as anything beyond an ode to WWE’s The Rock, with an added first-down gesture.
Nonetheless, it’s going to be interesting to see what they come up with as their new celebration to replace the controversial one.