Josh Norman shares more feelings on Odell Beckham Jr. in ESPN The Magazine interview
Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, right, gets into an altercation with New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. at MetLife Stadium on Dec. 20, 2015. Credit: AP / (Evan Pinkus via AP)
Odell Beckham Jr. said earlier in training camp during an interview on WFAN that he tried to reach out to Washington cornerback Josh Norman this offseason to smooth over their feud.
“It’s gone from here to way over that way and it doesn’t really need to,” Beckham said in the radio interview. “There’s way bigger problems going on in this world.”
That meeting never took place. And the message, apparently, hasn’t made it to Norman, either.
In the latest issue of ESPN The Magazine, Norman appears on the cover and talks, among other things, about his feelings toward Beckham.
“Everybody saw what he was,” Norman said of the Dec. 20 game between the Giants and Norman’s team, the Panthers. “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 was flagged for three personal fouls in that game and suspended the following week. Since then, the two have gone back and forth through various interviews and social media outlets. Norman’s signing with Washington and setting up two face-to-face meetings per season only adds to the drama.
Beckham, on Tuesday, declined to fan those flames any further.
“I’m really here to focus on the New York Giants, honestly,” he said when asked about Norman’s latest quotes. “Anything that doesn’t have to do with us or my teammates. If you want to talk about Rashad Jennings’ charity events or what Mark Herzlich does for the community, I would love to. Anything other than that, it’s just football, man.”
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
