Michael Irvin: Odell Beckham victim of homophobic taunts all year
NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin toldThe New York Daily News that Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has been the victim of homophobic taunts all season.
“He deals with it a lot,” Irvin said. “For some reason, everybody goes after him with gay slurs. He’s a different kind of dude. He has the hairdo out, he’s not the big muscular kind of dude. The ladies all love him. He’s a star. I wonder why people are going in that direction. It blows my mind. I told him he can’t let stuff that people say get to you.”
Panthers players reportedly directed anti-gay slurs and expletives at Beckham before the game. Beckham was penalized three times for unnecessary roughness in the Giants' loss. Beckham and Panthers cornerback Josh Norman were involved in several physical altercations during the game, culminating with a helmet-to-helmet hit initiated by Beckham in the third quarter.
The NFL is also determining whether other Panthers players will be fined.
• Watch: New video shows Odell Beckham Jr., Panthers confrontation
During the Giants’ fourth quarter run, Beckham caught a 40-yard pass to give the Giants a first down, and mocked Cam Newton’s celebration “Dab.” Beckham went on to catch a game-tying touchdown later in the fourth quarter before the Panthers would win on a field goal in the following drive.
The Giants will play the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday.
- Christopher Chavez
