Report: John Mara “Very Unhappy” With Odell Beckham’s Touchdown Celebration

At this point pretty much everyone is over hearing about the New York Giants’ game this past Sunday, and everything relating to it.

However, when John Mara publicly comments about Odell Beckham Jr.’s conduct during the season, we pretty much have to talk about that.

While the Giants have much bigger problems than one player’s touchdown celebration, they have always tried to comport themselves with a certain amount of class as a franchise. That image took a serious hit last year, and it’s understandable if the Giants’ owners are concerned by a perceived threat to that image this year.

Beckham hinted after the game that his celebration was related to the president’s comments regarding players who protest racial injustice. If that is the case, I’ll admit I certainly missed the point in the moment, and perhaps his sophomoric execution distracted more than a bit too much from his high concept.

All that being said, “internally” is the correct way to handle the matter.

For myself, personally, I am rarely bothered by Beckham’s “antics.” I firmly believe that he is an intelligent and well-meaning young man who is incredibly passionate about what he loves, and has been thrust into circumstances to which few can relate. I resigned myself to the occasional penalty when he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after scoring against the Los Angeles Rams (then St. Louis), despite not directing his celebration toward their players in any way. The occasional 15-yard penalty on a kick-off is a small price to pay for a player who can take over a game at any moment.

But like others, in this case I wish he would have thought it through just a bit more.

Hopefully, now we can all turn the page and move on to this coming Sunday afternoon.