The Giants won’t have wide receiver Odell Beckham against the Vikings on Sunday night.
The NFL announced Wednesday afternoon that appeals officer James Thrash has upheld the one-game suspension that the league handed down on Monday for Beckham’s “multiple violations of safety-related playing rules” against the Panthers in Week 15. Among those violations was a shot to Panthers cornerback Josh Norman’s head after a 10-yard running start that the league called “particularly flagrant” in its announcement of the suspension.
Beckham’s appeal was heard on Wednesday afternoon in New York City amid much discussion about what the Panthers did to set Beckham off during the game. There were accusations of homophobic slurs, although reportedly no discussion of them was included in the appeal and several Giants players said that they didn’t hear any, and of threats made by Panthers practice squadder Marcus Ball before the game while he was holding a baseball bat.
An altercation with Ball was caught on video, but clearly wasn’t an excuse for Beckham conducting himself so wildly during the game. There’s also no excuse for why the game’s officiating crew let things get so out of control on the field, especially since NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino got in contact during the game to remind them that they were permitted to eject Beckham, Norman or anyone else that was turning things from a football match to a battle royal.
