Odell Beckham Jr. suspended 1 game; appeal hearing set for Wed.

ByDan Graziano ESPN logo
Tuesday, December 22, 2015

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was suspended for one game on Monday for his actions during Sunday's game against the Panthers in which he drew three personal foul penalties.

Beckham's appeal will be heard Wednesday by James Thrash, sources told ESPN's Chris Mortensen. Beckham will attend the hearing at the league's office, a source said, and a decision is expected quickly after the hearing concludes.

Thrash is one of two hearing officers appointed by the NFL and the players' union.

Pending resolution of the appeal, Beckham will be allowed to be at the team facility and practice.

Beckham and union officials had a conference call Monday night to discuss the appeal procedure, sources previously said.

Beckham was flagged three times for personal fouls Sunday, as he grappled with Panthers cornerbacks Josh Norman and Cortland Finneganthroughout the game. The Panthers' defensive backs were also flagged, but Beckham's actions seemed more excessive, particularly when he rushed across the field to deliver a helmet-to-helmet hit on Norman at the end of a run play in which neither was involved.

In an NFL release sent Monday afternoon, president of football operations Merton Hanks ruled that Beckham's actions put his opponents at unnecessary risk of injury.

Beckham was fined earlier this year for unacceptable on-field actions in the Giants' game in Buffalo. After that game, Bills players accused Beckham of throwing punches, something he did more than once against Carolina.

Reports on Monday indicated that a Panthers practice squad player brought a baseball bat on the field before the game and made threatening remarks to Beckham with it. The Panthers have since explained that the bat is a motivational symbol they bring onto the field before every game.

A source with the Giants told ESPN's Ian O'Connor that Giants players on the field heard Panthers defensive players directing an anti-gay slur and expletives at Beckham before the game, and the source believes that set the confrontational tone for the game.

New York needs to win both of its remaining games and have the Redskins lose both of theirs to have any chance of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

Asked what kind of effect playing without Beckham would have on those chances, Giants coach Tom Coughlin said Monday, "You ask a question that requires no answer."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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