A new side of the Odell Beckham #BatGate story has emerged: the eyewitness account of Giants punter Brad Wing, who apparently was the closest player to the alleged incident.
Wing said that a Panthers player not in uniform carrying the baseball bat – likely practice squad player Marcus Ball – made a “legitimate threat” toward Beckham. Here is Wing’s story, as presented by Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News and Bob Glauber of New York’s Newsday.
Giants P Brad Wing said Panthers player not in uniform came up to Odell Beckham in pregame warmups holding a baseball bat.
— Bob Glauber (@BobGlauber) December 23, 2015
Giants P Brad Wing said bat-wielding Panther threatened Odell Beckham saying "I'll be the reason you don't play today … And other days."
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoNYDN) December 23, 2015
Wing said he doesn't remember hearing any homophobic slurs. He said Beckham was definitely shaken by the pre game encounter.
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoNYDN) December 23, 2015
Wing characterized it as "a legitimate threat" that started when Beckham offered his hand and the bat-wielding Panther refused to shake it.
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoNYDN) December 23, 2015
Brad Wing said Odell Beckham Jr. has told him he (Beckham) has been subjected to homophobic comments from opponents this season.
— Bob Glauber (@BobGlauber) December 23, 2015
Wing, who was the closest player to the incident said NO ONE has asked for his eye-witness account until reporters did today.
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoNYDN) December 23, 2015
Brad Wing, Josh Brown, Jerome Cunningham were 3 closest Giants to pregame incident. None heard any homophobic slurs from anyone.
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoNYDN) December 23, 2015
Wing would know: video from the pregame does show that he and Beckham were basically right next to each other, with Wing eventually moving Beckham away from the confrontation.
The Panthers clearly got inside Beckham’s head, and even if there was no intent from Ball to follow through on his threats, there’s no place for it on the field in any context.
Ball, for his part, gave a strong denial when these comments were brought to his attention.
Marcus Ball on Wing's allegations he'd end Odell's career: "If I had a dollar for all ex girlfriends that had false allegations about me…"
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) December 23, 2015
This saga doesn’t seem to be slowing down. The Panthers have previously denied that any threats were made toward Beckham, but there was definitely some sort of incident between Ball and Beckham before the game, and the Giants star spent the entire day playing recklessly, earning himself a suspension. With neither team backing down from their respective stories, this could go unresolved for quite a while.
