On the same day that Odell Beckham Jr. appealed his one-game suspension, New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin vented to the media, insisting that Beckham was not the only one to blame. Beckham was issued the suspension for altercations with Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman during the Giants' loss to Carolina in Week 15.
Tom Coughlin adamant Odell Beckham Jr. not only one to blame for Panthers-Giants dustups
The Giants head coach insisted Beckham was provoked for his actions against the Panthers.
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
The league’s decision to suspend Beckham didn’t sit well with Coughlin, who felt the suspension was unjust. “To depict this as Odell Beckham being wrong and the only one wrong, is not right. It’s not fair. It’s not justice. It’s not the way it was,” Coughlin said. “If you’re naive enough to think that way, then you’d better do some soul searching yourself.”
Coughlin was adamant that, while he did not condone Beckham's actions, Beckham was provoked by Panthers practice squad player Marcus Ball, who exchanged words with Beckham pregame while brandishing a baseball bat. There are allegations that Panthers players directed homophobic slurs at Beckham, an accusation Panthers head coach Ron Rivera emphatically denied.
“The situation pregame -- with the baseball bat -- and if you know what occurred at the very beginning of the game, you can understand that there was two sides to this and not just one,” Coughlin said. “And that’s the only thing I’ll say about that incident.”
Before Wednesday, when Beckham apologized to the fans and his team -- but not to the Panthers -- neither Beckham nor the Giants had released any sort of official statement about the incident. This fact was not lost on Rivera.
“Odell hasn’t released a statement, their organization hasn’t released a statement,” Rivera said Tuesday. “But I keep hearing all these things that everybody is saying everybody else is saying. That disappoints me.”
Norman was also fined for his role in his battles with Beckham in Sunday’s game. The league issued Norman a fine of $8,681 for a face mask against Beckham and an additional $17,363 for striking Beckham in the head and neck. Norman will appeal the fines on the basis that he was provoked by Beckham.
Coughlin insisted that, although Beckham was provoked, his reaction was wrong. Coughlin does not believe this situation accurately reflects Beckham’s character.
“I will not defend his actions yesterday because they were wrong,” Coughlin said Monday. “But I will defend the young man and the quality of his person. I will defend him as long as I’m able. I told our team that. Our team feels the same way about Odell.”
On Wednesday, the NFL upheld Beckham’s suspension. He will miss the Giants’ Sunday Night Football matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.
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SB Nation presents: Best and worst of Week 15, from Cam Newton to Odell Beckham Jr.
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