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Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterOct 3, 2024, 06:28 PM ET
- Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN’s NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
CINCINNATI — An investigation by the NFL into a drink-spilling incident involving a fan and Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown has been deemed an accident, a league spokesperson said Thursday.
The incident occurred after last Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. As the Bengals were walking off the field, a fan appeared to pour a drink on Brown as he exited the field and entered the tunnel. Video of the incident was posted on social media, and the league and the players’ association announced they were looking into the matter.
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After reviewing the video and multiple security camera feeds, the NFL concluded that the drink wasn’t maliciously poured on Brown.
“The league’s review of the matter determined that portions of a drink were accidentally spilled on the Cincinnati player as Bengals fans attempted to catch the gloves he tossed to them,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement to ESPN.
Had the act been deemed malicious, a fan could have been subject to punishment, including a potential lifetime ban from the stadium.
Speaking to ESPN on Thursday, Brown said he was happy someone didn’t purposely pour a drink on him after a career day. The second-year player out of Illinois scored his first two rushing touchdowns since the Bengals drafted him in the fifth round last year.
“It would suck if people are doing stuff with intent,” Brown told ESPN. “Honestly happier it’s a Bengals fan, too. I’m just glad they got the gloves at the end of the day.”
Brown said the incident might impact how he distributes gear to fans after games.
“Maybe I got to hand it up now,” he said with a smile. “I’m not going to throw it up anymore.”
