While Odell Beckham Jr’s actions on Sunday were inexcusable, there is no question a baseball bat the Carolina Panthers were carrying around on the field before the game had something to do with the Giants receiver losing his temper.
A video that the Giants shared on Instagram Monday showed Panthers practice squad player Marcus Ball carrying the bat around and gesturing toward the Giants with it as they were taking the field. Some newer footage shows that Ball and Beckham actually came face to face and jawed at one another while Ball was holding the bat.
What is a Panthers practice squad player doing going into the Giants team stretching area.. with a baseball bat? pic.twitter.com/4mIQ0jwYRg
— Giants Daily (@NYGDaily) December 22, 2015
If you’re wondering why the Panthers had a bat on the field to begin with, we explained a lot of that here. They apparently use it to symbolize that they are going to “lay the wood” against their opponents.
Beckham has been suspended for a game after throwing swings on Sunday and taking several cheap shots, all of which you can see here. Many believe the Giants are trying to justify Beckham’s actions by insisting he was threatened and taunted with homophobic slurs, but the team isn’t alone in saying that.
Deion Sanders says that Norman called Odell a "fa**ot", carried around a baseball bat pregame and told him he was "gonna end his career".
— astromarko (@astromarko) December 21, 2015
Unfortunately, homophobic slurs and physical threats happen almost every game in the NFL. That said, I think we can all agree that a player holding a bat during a confrontation with another player is a horrible look — regardless of the context.
H/T Deadspin
