NFL: Odell Beckham Jr. suspended for one game

The NFL has suspended Odell Beckham Jr, the New York Giants' sensational young receiver, for one game after a petulant performance on Sunday in which he repeatedly tangled with Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman.

Beckham will miss the Giants’ road game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Beckham was whistled for three personal fouls for unnecessary roughness during the game. The most glaring incident came in the third quarter, when Beckham slammed his helmet into the side of Norman’s.

The suspension was an embarrassment for Beckham, who in two seasons has become one of pro football’s most popular and celebrated players and the focal point of the Giants’ offense. His spectacular one-handed catches and entertaining end zone dances after touchdowns have made him a marquee name in American sports and a frequent pitchman for commercial products across multiple media platforms. Beckham also graced the cover of Madden NFL 2016, the best-selling sports video game.

But this is also the fourth time Beckham has been fined in his short career for violent acts or temper tantrums. In 2014, he was fined $10,000 for kicking St. Louis Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree in a brawl-filled game in St. Louis. The same month, he was fined $11,025 for taking off his helmet and throwing it to the turf during a prolonged protest about a late tackle out of bounds. And early this season, Beckham was fined $8,681 for throwing a punch at Buffalo Bills safety Duke Williams.

Beckham will forfeit $52,529, or one-seventeenth of his 2015 salary of $893,009.

After the game, Beckham defended himself. “We are out there playing football,’’ he said. “We are competing. You are a competitor. I’m a competitor. We are always going to go at it.”

Norman, however, was incensed by Beckham’s actions. “The guy took a shot at me I don’t know how many times,’’ he said. “To take a shot at a guy’s head, I mean, come on now. That’s kind of going a little bit too far.”

New York Times Service