A number of Cincinnati Bengals players walked past Vice President J.D. Vance largely without interacting with him on Wednesday when he visited the team’s practice facility with his son.
Vance, an Ohio native and longstanding Bengals fan, made the visit before a midterms campaign rally in support of Republican candidates including Vivek Ramaswamy, who is in a tight battle in the state’s gubernatorial race.
In a video posted on X, most of the players were seen filing past Vance without engaging. However, tight end Drew Sample was seen shaking hands and exchanging words with the vice president.
JD Vance greets Bengals players on the way out pic.twitter.com/lMKvYRpMfE
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) October 21, 2026
Responding to the clip, the singer-songwriter Bill Madden wrote on X: “This is what TOTAL HUMILIATION looks like: JD Vance attempted to greet Cincinnati Bengals players in the locker room and got snubbed and ghosted by every single player except one.”
Dov Kleiman, a NFL commentator, also said: “The Bengals are under heavy criticism online for IGNORING Vice President JD Vance as he tried to greet them. The large majority of the team did not shake his hand or even acknowledge Vance.”
Newsweek contacted Vance via the White House press office, and the Cincinnati Bengals’ press office for comment via email outside of regular office hours.
This is a developing story. More to follow.