Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr., one of the best young players in the NFL who has a habit of making some of the most fantastic catches we’ve ever seen, was suspended for this week’s game because of multiple violations of player safety rules during Sunday’s loss to the Panthers.
For instance, these:
These antics were worthy of a one-game suspension.pic.twitter.com/n0miqdNZlc
— HuffPost Sports (@HuffPostSports) December 21, 2015
But the Giants are appealing the suspension, saying Beckham was threatened in pregame warmups with one Panthers player pointing a baseball bat at him and also alleging that Beckham was the target of homophobic slurs at the same time. There’s no doubt that a baseball bat was on the field, but the Carolina organization denied that there were homophobic taunts thrown Beckham’s way.
In the past day, some videos have emerged from the pregame warmup period. This one shows Carolina practice-squad player Marcus Ball who’s walking in the Giants stretching area and appears to have a meeting with Beckham, who wears No. 13 and yanks off his helmet.
https://twitter.com/NYGDaily/status/679126741252706304
You can see Ball in this video pointing the bat at the Giants.
https://www.instagram.com/p/_kOA3pzezC/
So, why were there bats on the field in the first place? The Panthers apparently use them as motivational symbols. But the Giants had a different take on Carolina’s motivation.
I'm told there were comments made in direction of Odell Beckham Jr. + other players about how Panthers coming to "beat the s**t out of him."
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) December 21, 2015
https://twitter.com/astromarko/status/679023065968152576
Either way Beckham, unless the the suspension is overturned, won’t be around to participate in this weekend’s game vs. the Vikings, a contest that could have major playoff implications for the Giants. And while Norman has had a breakout season this year and is being touted as perhaps the best cornerback in the league, the NFL wants to make sure he’s not handling any bats in the pregame warmup period.
In a memo to teams this afternoon, NFL reminded them "foreign objects" are not permitted on the sideline. Advised to leave in locker room.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 22, 2015
H/T Deadspin | Photo via Disney | ABC Television Group/Flickr (CC BY ND 2.0)