BEREA, Ohio — The Baltimore Ravens posted a story and video Tuesday on their website arguing that cornerback Marlon Humphrey wasn’t guilty of choking Browns star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Cleveland coach Freddie Kitchens, however, isn’t buying that retort.
“Did you see the video?” he answered rhetorically, when asked to respond. “That’s my response. Everybody saw the video.”
Beckham and Humphrey got into a skirmish during Sunday’s game, which escalated with Humphrey pinning Beckham to the ground. Kitchens was upset that Humphrey wasn’t ejected for what he believed to be Humphrey choking Beckham.
Kitchens confirmed that he reached out to the league office this week about Humphrey.
“I will compliment Odell for this: in that instance, he did an excellent job of not retaliating,” Kitchens said. “I thought he was in some positions all day and difficult situations all day. I thought he handled it fairly well.”
Beckham’s teammates also took issue with Humphrey.
“You look at the video, I looked at it (Tuesday) morning, the dude is really like trying to strangle my brother,” Browns right tackle Chris Hubbard said. “Something has to be done about that, no matter what it is. You can’t have that in this league.”
The Ravens, however, tell a different story.
In the story posted with the headline, “Marlon Humphrey Didn’t Choke Odell Beckham Jr,” an accompanying video showing a slow-motion replay of the incident was used to support the writer’s point.
After the game, Humphrey also said that Beckham should’ve been the one ejected for throwing a punch.
“Based on the close-up that we have of the footage that we had, (Humphrey) pinned him on the ground after about three or four things happened,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “And I don’t want to alleviate (Humphrey) from any responsibility, because we can’t get flags in that situation.”
Harbaugh will again address the media on Wednesday.
Both players were flagged afterward. Though neither was ejected, Beckham and Humphrey could both face fines, as well.
The Ravens and the Browns will face each other again on Dec. 22 in Cleveland.