For those of you looking for an explanation for why Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. retaliated so many times with so many cheap shots aimed at Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, ESPN’s Adam Schefter provided one possibility.
PLUS: Mike Francesa rips Beckham, Coughlin (AUDIO)
The reporter posted this on his Facebook page on Monday afternoon:
Does that really explain everything? That the presence of some bats and comments set off one of the most dangerous performances we’ve seen in an NFL game?
First, here’s video from the Giants’ Instagram of a Panther on the field with a black bat:
Here’s video (via @Giants Instagram) of someone in Panthers gear (Josh Norman?) on the field w/bat during pregame. pic.twitter.com/LtKKwUVGdu
— Joe Giglio (@JoeGiglioSports) December 21, 2015
Here’s video of Norman holding the bat, from FOX’s Jay Glazer:
A video posted by @jayglazer on Dec 21, 2015 at 11:39am PST
As soon as Schefter’s report went live, there was evidence the Panthers’ black bats weren’t just a one-week threat intended to get inside Beckham’s head. Here are a series of tweets from Panthers cornerback Bene Benwikere:
Come on now my boys carry the bat with them as it symbolizes my presence still being with them at the game and the NFL has a problem???
— Bené Benwikere (@BigPlayBene) December 21, 2015
I carried the bat out the tunnel against Atlanta and my teammates held it during warm ups that game to pic.twitter.com/SQTcIy8mrF
— Bené Benwikere (@BigPlayBene) December 21, 2015
And on top of that I believe Odell is an awesome player met him a few times but during the game in between the lines there was no bat
— Bené Benwikere (@BigPlayBene) December 21, 2015
Coaches and players in every sport use objects as symbols of motivation the bat is a symbol pic.twitter.com/kPGvaHQuHK
— Bené Benwikere (@BigPlayBene) December 21, 2015
@daverichard @greatkrypton @BigPlayBene raiders bring it out for divisional games pic.twitter.com/slNdrUYMiD
— Anthony Rodriguez (@AROD75) December 21, 2015
Benwikere’s bat was written about by ESPN last week: “I have no idea why Benwikere ran out during pregame introductions with a baseball bat. Perhaps he was predicting the Panthers would hit it out of the park, which they did. Or perhaps he wanted to be “bat man” opposite Josh ‘Batman’ Norman.”
Schefter followed up with tweets pointing out how the pregame bats were business as usual for the Panthers:
Panthers said practice-squad S Marcus Ball swinging a bat, no one else. Panthers said bats symbolize home-run plays and “bringing the wood.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 21, 2015
Panthers have carried bats out onto field for pregame in nearly every game this season. Sunday a continuation of Carolina ritual.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 21, 2015
Hopefully, there’s more coming from Beckham on this side of the story.
Follow Charles Curtis on Twitter @charlescurtis82. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
