By now, everyone’s seen this video of Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham spearing Carolina’s Josh Norman:
Monday, the NFL suspended Beckham from Sunday night’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. The NFLPA immediately appealed the suspension. That appeal is happening literally as I type this. James Thrash, a former NFL wide receiver hired by the NFL and the NFLPA, is conducting the hearing.
I’m betting that the NFLPA’s chief argument will be that he should be fined, not suspended. If that’s the NFLPA’s chief argument, that should be immediately rejected. Beckham’s actions a) were dangerous, b) were motivated by malice and c) could’ve resulted in a concussion that could’ve financially damaged Josh Norman.
Thus far, the comments have focused on how out-of-control Beckham was or how this isn’t typical of a Tom Coughlin-coached team. Both statements are indisputable. What hasn’t gotten talked about is the fact that Josh Norman will be a free agent this offseason. He’s considered the best cornerback in the league, which means he should expect a 5-6 year contract worth $15,000,000 a year, including at least $50,000,000 in guaranteed money.
Beckham’s hit could easily have given Norman a concussion. If he’d been concussed, all bets are off as to whether Norman would get the type of contract he’s expecting to get. While it’s likely that he’d still sign a lucrative contract, it’s quite possible that Norman would’ve gotten less lucrative contracts, costing him as much as $25,000,000.
That’s yet another reason why Odell Beckham must be suspended.
Neck injury. Michael Irvin.
Eye injury. Detached retina. Unlikely. But possible.
Yet if Beckham plays against the Vikings, if they cannot compete with the best, they should (post season) watch the best. It’s how things should be.
While I’m late to this comment, if the NFL had to suspend Odell (which they did and a judge upheld), they should have suspended Norman for his on field actions and they should fired the officiating crew for ever letting it get to the point where Odell speared Norman. Maybe the whole Panthers team should be suspended for bringing baseball bats onto the field (foreign objects on the field are against league policy) no matter if it was in support of an injured teammate or to intimidate Odell. The NFL has become a joke. Soon Vince McMahon will be running the league as it has become just like wrestling. At least now the Vikings have a chance to beat the Giants now that Odell is out.
First, I disagree that Norman should’ve been suspended because he just threw Beckham to the side and taunted him. What he did was unprofessional and disgusting but it wasn’t dangerous. If you want to argue that his fine should’ve been bigger, I’m ok with that.
What Beckham did might’ve crippled Norman or at least greatly impaired Norman. With the number of suicides over the past 2-3 years related to concussions and other brain injuries, Beckham’s actions crossed a line that can’t be tolerated.
As for the officials, they were a disgrace. They shouldn’t be allowed to officiate a playoff game this season. Period. They lost control of the game early & never got it back.