Josh Norman, in an interview that landed him on the cover of ESPN the Magazine, said that there are teams around the league with a “hit” out on New York Giants star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. this season.
Beckham and Norman, of course, have been trading insults ever since last December’s Giants-Carolina Panthers game during which Beckham received three personal foul penalties for confrontations with Norman.
Here is the full quote:
"Everybody saw what he was," Norman said, referring (once again) to the Dec. 20 game in which Beckham was charged with three personal fouls involving Norman. "People from around the league were coming up to me afterward and saying, 'He does that crap all the time.' He lost so much respect from people for that little tantrum.
"I've already got a couple people telling me, 'OK, I've got a hit out on him.' It's going to be rough for him this year. And he brought it on himself."
Beckham refused to take the bait from Norman.
“I’m really here to focus on the New York Giants. Anything that doesn’t really have to do with us or my teammates … if you want to talk about Rashad Jennings’ charity events and what Mark Herzlich does for the community, I would love to. Anything other than that, it’s just football,” Beckham said.
For a guy who has said he doesn’t want to talk about Beckham, Norman certainly takes every opportunity to do just that. Much of what the now-Washington Redskins cornerback says about Beckham can and should probably just be ignored.
This, though, is a different story. This should get the attention of of the Giants, the league office and its officials. There is no place for the nonsense that went on not only during but prior to last years Giants-Panthers game, with Beckham apparently being taunted with a baseball bat.Nor is there any place for teams going out of their way to injure, or at least rough up, star players from opposing teams.