Odell Beckham Jr. Loses Suspension Appeal: Latest Comments and Reaction

The New York Giants (and fantasy owners) will have to find a new source of production Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, as superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. lost his suspension appeal and will miss the Week 16 contest.

NFL Network's Rand Getlin reported Wednesday afternoon that appeals officer James Thrash upheld the suspension, and ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed the Giants would be without their top playmaker against the Vikings.

Beckham himself weighed in on the news:

The NFL explained the ruling, per Jenna Laine of Sports Talk 1040 The Team:

The league suspended Beckham for one game as a disciplinary response for his actions on the field during New York’s Week 15 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Dan Graziano of ESPN.com noted the NFL sent out an official release Monday, saying that NFL Vice President of Football Operations Merton Hanks "ruled that Beckham's actions put his opponents at unnecessary risk of injury."

In all, Beckham picked up three personal fouls during the game and turned heads when he launched himself at cornerback Josh Norman in the open field, making contact with the defender’s head. While Norman responded and was also flagged, it was the type of dangerous play that could have seriously injured the Panthers stud cornerback.

Beckham and Norman jawed at each other throughout the showdown, as the cornerback contained the New York star in the early stages. While Beckham did catch a touchdown in the fourth quarter (and stepped right over Norman during the ensuing celebration), the Panthers picked up the win to move to 14-0.

Graziano also noted the Panthers had at least one baseball bat on the field before the game, and “a source with the Giants told ESPN's Ian O'Connor that Giants players on the field heard Panthers defensive players directing an anti-gay slur and expletives at Beckham before the game, and the source believes that set the confrontational tone for the game.”

Giants head coach Tom Coughlin discussed the situation in a press conference Wednesday, per Graziano:

"

To depict this as Odell Beckham being wrong, and the only one who's wrong, is not right, it's not fair, it's not justice and it's not the way it was. If you're naive enough to think that way, then you'd better do some soul-searching yourself.

Beckham certainly was wrong, and we've said he was wrong from day one. But there were factors involved, starting in pregame, which are well documented, which indicate that there was an attempt to provoke him. He was provoked. He was out of control, he was wrong, there's no doubt about that. You'd like that it didn't happen. But the fact of the matter is, the situation in the pregame with the baseball bat, and if you know what occurred at the very beginning of the game, you can understand that there were two sides to this and not just one.

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The back-and-forth between Beckham and the Panthers players overshadowed an incredible contest. Carolina kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired to win by three after the Giants overcame a 28-point deficit to tie it in the final two minutes.

Norman did not hide his opinions when he was asked about Beckham following the game, per Steve Overmyer of CBS 2 in New York: “F--k him. He's a b---h! Screw him and his whole setup.”

Chris Chase of USA Today didn’t hold back either when writing about Beckham:

"

The worst part is that Beckham changed his entire image on Sunday. He went from a fun-loving, acrobatic, football savant to an Ndamukong Suh for the offensive set. He went from the most marketable non-quarterback in the league to a punk in about three hours flat. But worse than Suh, Beckham wasn’t being a bully as much as he was being a horrible loser with no class, no fortitude and no business being on an NFL field for the rest of the year.

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Beyond the personal ramifications, Beckham hurt the Giants as they attempt to win the NFC East because he will not be available for the Week 16 contest against the Vikings. He is one of the league's best young wide receivers and makes the New York offense much more potent.

If the Giants lose to Minnesota without Beckham and wind up missing the playoffs, the entire franchise will feel the repercussions of his punishment.