The NFL was 100% correct in suspending New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for one game after his behavior on the field on Sunday in the Giants game against the Carolina Panthers. The NFL was also correct in fining Panthers cornerback Josh Norman $26,044 for his role in the feud that took place during that matchup. Beckham was flagged three times, including once for launching himself at the head of Norman. That is completely inexcusable behavior. But even though Norman appeared, at least on Sunday, to be the better behaved of the two players, the talented cornerback did retaliate against OBJ on the very next play after Beckham went after Norman’s head. The NFL does not usually take kindly to retaliation and so Norman’s fine is definitely justified.
But if what has been reported is accurate, then this OBJ vs Norman and the Panthers saga goes deeper, and it means there needs to be a culture change in the NFL.
CAROLINA PANTHERS TAUNTING ODELL BECKHAM JR. WITH HOMOPHOBIC SLURS SHOWS THERE NEEDS TO BE A CULTURE CHANGE IN THE NFL
According to reports, Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin has spoken with Beckham multiple times since the Giants lost to the Panthers on Sunday, and he says that the talented receiver told him he has been dealing with homophobic slurs “every week.”
“He deals with it a lot. For some reason, everybody goes after him with gay slurs,” Irvin told Gary Meyers of the New York Daily News. “He’s a different kind of dude. He has the hairdo out, he’s not the big muscular kind of dude. The ladies all love him. He’s a star. I wonder why people are going in that direction. It blows my mind. I told him he can’t let stuff that people say get to you.”
The Panthers hurling homophobic slurs at Beckham, and taunting (and possibly threatening) him with their infamous baseball bat (which the Panthers players can no longer carry onto the field), is reportedly what made OBJ become so unhinged on Sunday. I’m not excusing Beckham for his embarrassing actions on Sunday, and he needs to learn how to control his emotions because he is such an important part of the Giants and their offense. But if Panthers players were yelling homophobic slurs at Beckham, before and during the game, and threatening him with a bat, I can understand why he lost his cool, especially if this is something he deals with on a weekly basis.
There is no need for any player to have to deal with slurs of any kind. I get that the NFL is a much different business environment than almost anything else in which the rest of us work. I understand football has always been a “tough guy” sport and that it will probably remain that way. But that doesn’t mean the game, and those who play it, can’t evolve and grow. The NFL needs players, and other people, to stand up so the culture of the NFL can change, and become a better place of acceptance.
I don’t know if Odell Beckham Jr. is gay, but it shouldn’t really matter if he is or not. If he can play the game at a level that helps his team, his sexual orientation should be of no consequence to anyone. Beckham needs to get better at controlling his emotions, and he can’t let what other people or players say get to him. But no one should have to deal with slurs of any kind being yelled at them.
Main Photo: Dec 20, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman (24) wraps up New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) after short reception during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. Carolina Panthers defeat the New York Giants 38-35. Photo Credit: Jim O’Connor-USA TODAY Sports
