Reports say Panthers taunted Odell Beckham with homophobic slurs

Well, I guess we finally have proof of a Carolina Panthers player actually confronting Odell Beckham Jr. with bat in hand. “And what I have seen in the last couple of games – the wagging of the tongue, the nonsense in the end zone, the me me me stuff – to me, it all boiled over yesterday in one of the worst, worst performances and completely me, self-aggrandizing, nonsensical, just unsafe at times performance by Beckham yesterday”.

Cornerback Josh Norman said he was tested for a concussion after taking a vicious hit from wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who was suspended largely because of the dirty play….

ESPN’s Adam Schefter, citing a league source, also noted that “at least one Panthers official, and possibly more, carried black baseball bats onto the field and were motioning with them towards Odell Beckham Jr. while making comments to him”.

All that people are going to remember are the frequent run-ins between Beckham and Panthers cornerback Josh Norman. Their personal matchup netted five unnecessary roughness penalties (three for Beckham, two for Norman) and still dominated the public conversation Monday, with multiple reports indicating that Norman may have started things by wielding a bat at Beckham in a threatening way and/or issuing homophobic slurs before the game.

Beckham has been criticized heavily since Sunday’s game, and rightfully so.

After Sunday’s game, Beckham defended himself.

He added that “players like that don’t deserve to be in the game”.

Beckham will miss next Sunday’s game at Minnesota, a pivotal contest in the Giants hopes of capturing a playoff spot by winning the NFC East division.

The helmet-to-helmet hit is nearly always the result of an attempt to tackle a player directly involved with the play; aka a player with the ball or a player guarding or blocking for the player with the ball.

Beckham leads the Giants with 91 catches for 1,396 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Norman, however, was incensed by Beckham’s actions. “That man knows what he was doing”, Norman said, referring to when Beckham wore cleats with the Joker on them in a game the week previous.

Let this serve as a learning experience for the young receiver: If you want to be great – and we mean Hall of Fame great – it’s what you do for your team, not yourself, that counts most. He has great enthusiasm and energy. “But I will defend the quality of the person as long as I’m able”.

His teammates and coaches spent their Monday conference calls trying to put out the fire, ahead of whatever possible league-sanctioned punishment comes Beckham’s way. “I don’t think either one was in the right”.

His cheap shot(s) on Norman are now the lasting impression of Beckham, regardless of how he plays for the rest of the season. The team had season-high 161 yards rushing on 27 carries.

Meanwhile, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin made the following statement regarding the team’s need to have Beckham in the lineup for this critical game.

In a brief filed with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, the league argued that the contract specifically “grants the commissioner authority to discipline players for conduct detrimental to the integrity of, or public confidence in, the game of professional football”. I realize most guys on the field aren’t fully aware of what’s happening – focusing on their own assignments – until they see the highlights on TV or watch film, but someone should have talked to Beckham about his actions.