NFL says Odell Beckham Jr. should have been ejected in Game against Panthers

The National Football League (NFL) admitted that Giants wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr. should have been ejected against Sunday's game the Carolina Panthers.

"I think when you look at of the actions in their entirety it does warrant an ejection," Dean Blandino, the league's vice president of officiating, said to Dan Hellie, the host of NFL Total Access, via NFL.com. "Anytime a player is suspended for his actions, (it) would warrant an ejection. We don't take disqualification lightly. It is a short season and the action really has to raise above and beyond the normal course and this certainly did."

He added, "It's certainly an accumulation of instances and not just on Beckham. There were some things on the other side, too, and I think both parties were involved. The officials, if you asked them, they would agree after looking at the tape that ejections were warranted."

Beckham received a one-game suspension for his actions in the second half of the game, which the Giants lost 38-35. During the game, he was penalized with flags only.

Upon announcing the suspension, NFL Vice President of Football Operations Merton Hanks stated that the receiver "placed his opponents at unnecessary risk of injury and should have been avoided."

The league's statement continued, "This 'blindside block' was particularly flagrant because Beckham, with a 10-yard running start, had an unobstructed path to his opponent, the position of the opponent was not impacted by any other player, and the contact with the head/neck was avoidable."

Beckham had gone out of his way to tackle Josh Norman. Norman, who was involved in several scuffles with Beckham, was fined $26,044 for two offenses. Norman will reportedly appeal the fine.

Blandino added that at one point, he felt like he needed to remind the officials that they could eject players.

"The crew was doing a really tough job of trying to keep the game under control," he said. "They had spoken to both head coaches, they had spoken to the players. There was a point in the game where I did get on the headset to the replay official to remind the referee you can eject players, you'll have our full support, this thing can not get out of control. Things did tend to settle down as things got closer in the fourth quarter, but certainly there was a point there where things got a little bit crazy."

In regards to Beckham's actions, Norman stated, "I just pretty much showed people what this guy really is and what he stands for. I just don't feel like that's a part of the game that should be played. If you want to play, let's play it straight up, let's do it the right way."

Giants coach Tom Coughlin defended his player, stating that Beckham was provoked throughout the game.

"Beckham was wrong and we said that was wrong from Day 1, but there were factors involved, starting in pre-game," Coughlin said reported by USA TODAY Sports. "There were attempts to provoke him and he was provoked."

Beckham said that he would be appealing his suspension.