Odell Beckham Jr. could be facing a suspension for the way he acted during Sunday’s loss to the Panthers, but suddenly there is a narrative involving physical threats and a baseball bat that is adding another layer to the story.
Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reports that the Giants are “convinced” that Beckham was physically threatened by Panthers players before the game and called homophobic slurs.
Giants reviewed pregame incidents b/n Panthers players and Beckham. Are convinced he was threatened physically and called homophobic slurs
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) December 21, 2015
Giants not alleging any particular player saying/doing this but have looked into various pregame interactions and firmly believe it occured
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) December 21, 2015
Accounts from various people on sidelines point to a series of events that played a role in Beckham's unusual emotional state in that game
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) December 21, 2015
Not surprisingly, the Panthers have adamantly denied that any of that took place.
Panthers officials deny strongly any threats or slurs were made and are adamant they have long used a bat as a motivating prop…
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) December 21, 2015
Panthers communications director Steven Drummond said: "absolutely nothing happened on the sideline. I was there. No one was threatened…
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) December 21, 2015
Drummond went on to say: "no one was threatened with a bat. It didn't happen. It's a diversionary tactic and a good one at that."
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) December 21, 2015
For those of you who have not had time to catch up on #BatGate, we have all the information you need right here. Basically, the Panthers use a baseball bat as symbol of how they are going to “lay the wood” on opponents. The Giants reportedly claim Beckham was threatened with it before the game, which is why he was so emotionally unstable all afternoon.
It’s hard to believe that Beckham actually thought a Panthers player was going to attack him with a bat, even if he was threatened and called names. The Panthers were likely trying to get into his head, and it seems to have worked. If you have not seen some of the dangerous cheap shots Beckham threw, you can watch them here.
