Giving back to a community that loves him.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase (1) runs routes during warmups before the NFL Week 11 game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
CINCINNATI — Ja’Marr Chase gave back to the community this week in a toy drive partnership with Integrity Logistics. He held the event at the Dudley Boys and Girls Club in Cincinnati’s Avondale neighborhood.
The kids got to fulfill some holiday dreams with over 100 members of the club diving into a shopping spree thanks to the Bengals wide receiver and his partner.
“It’s really just about putting a smile on they face,” Chase said to WLWT’s Charlie Clifford. “Just helps me be a better person man, a better father, growth.”
Check out his full comments to WLWT and others on the event below:
Ja’Marr Chase on his surprise holiday visit tonight to the Girls & Boys Club in Avondale:
“It helps me be a better person. A better human being. A better father.” pic.twitter.com/1sjfwMYI8b
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) December 4, 2024
Very cool: Ja’Marr Chase is in Avondale tonight surprising over 100 members of the Dudley Taft Boys & Girls Club.
The NFL’s leading receiver teamed up with Integrity Logistics for a free kids shopping spree ahead of the holidays. pic.twitter.com/2cAHMMYQJR
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) December 3, 2024
Chad Ochocinco is brought to tears following the Bengals’ loss to the Steelers
The legendary Bengals receiver was heartbroken over the team’s third-straight loss
It’s been nearly 15 years since former wide receiver Chad Ochocinco suite up for the Cincinnati Bengals, but their backbreaking loss Sunday afternoon to AFC North rivals Pittsburgh impacted him all the same.
Ochocinco appeared on his “Nightcap” program Monday to dissect the Bengals’ third-straight loss, ultimately moved to tears by his former club’s continued underachievement and some persistent goading from co-host Shannon Sharpe.
Sharpe began the sequence by outlining the Bengals’ struggles on defense, asserting that even the addition of Ochocinco, a six-time Pro Bowler with seven 1,000-yard seasons, wouldn’t help Cincinnati’s current slide. “Even [if] you, Ocho, played in the game, I’d say, ‘Ocho, how are you going to go out on a run when you’re defense is historically bad?’ You’re quarterback literally has to play a perfect game because the defense can’t stop anybody,” Sharpe said.”
From there, Ochocinco began to visibly well up, a fairly common occurrence on the pair’s show, which onto prompted Sharpe to kick his taunting into high gear. “You should be crying,” Sharpe said, to which Ochocinco responded, “We’re going to be alright.”
“No y’all ain’t,” Sharpe continued. “Next year? Y’all ain’t going to be alright this year. You got them people in Cincinnati believing in you like, ‘Ocho said we’re going to be alright.’ Now everybody ain’t doing nothing but eating chili on their hot dogs.”
Ochocinco was drafted in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft but quickly became one of the Bengals’ all-time great players, capturing nearly every franchise receiving record and leading the team to three straight top-10 offensive finishes during the peak of his powers between 2004 and 2006. He was moved to New England ahead of the 2011 season and ultimately his NFL career ended the following season after pleading no contest to a domestic battery charge.
His legacy has been well maintained within the Bengals receiving core, with star wideout Ja’Marr Chase having accumulated 100 more yards than any receiver this season while Tee Higgins and Mike Gesicki round out a stellar pass-catching corps. The Bengals defense, however, currently ranks 31st in points allowed and has consigned the Bengals to three-straight defeats despite averaging better than 33 points per game during that stretch.
