The Baltimore Ravens have officially denied that guard Marshal Yanda spat on Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict during Sunday’s game.
On Monday, Ravens spokesman Kevin Byrne insisted that Yanda absolutely “did not spit on anyone,” according to Pro Football Talk.
Some said that Yanda either tried to spit at Burfict, or was trying to spit on the ground. But video shows at the very least that the Bengals player was wholly unaware of the spittle spurting.
Yanda was standing over Burfict after the Bengals player was waylaid by a tackle. The video shows that Yanda let a big one drop, which caught on his face guard. Yanda also seemed to brush the spit off his face guard. But, if the loogie flew onto Burfict after that or just dropped to the ground, we can’t tell from the video.
Here is a closeup of the incident:
It does seem as if Yanda cocked his head to the side, away from where Burfict was lying.
The Bengals have not commented, but if the league decides that Yanda did drop a mouthful on Burfict, there could be a fine in the offing. The league has fined several for such incidents before. Among others, the Cowboys’ Terrell Owens was fined $35,000 for letting one fly at Atlanta’s DeAngelo Hall in 2006.
The Ravens beat the Bengals that day, 24-21.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.