Carolina Panthers

NFL head of officiating: Beckham deserved ejection

Published Dec. 23, 2015 1:49 a.m. ET

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Odell Beckham will likely learn of his fate later this week, after his appeal of a one-game suspension is heard.

If it were up to the head of NFL officiating, Beckham would have already served punishment . . . he would have been tossed from last Sunday’s game.

Of course, Beckham, the Giants’ Pro Bowl receiver, and Panthers cornerback Josh Norman had quite the battle last weekend, with Beckham getting hit with three personal fouls and Norman getting two as the duo exchanged verbal — and physical — jabs throughout the game.

The most infamous and egregious moment came in the third quarter, when Beckham delivered a diving helmet-to-helmet hit on Norman while blocking.

On Tuesday’s “NFL Total Access” on the NFL Network, NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said that Beckham should have been ejected from the game. Perhaps a little more surprising, Blandino said that Beckham shouldn’t have been the only one given the boot.

According to the NFL.com report, Blandino went so far as to speak with the replay official assigned to the game at the Meadowlands and “asked him to remind the referee that he could eject players.”

He then added that perhaps simply throwing flags earlier could have helped better maintain control in the game, ultimately won 38-35 by the now 14-0 Panthers on a Graham Gano 43-yard field goal at the final gun following Beckham’s tying touchdown with 1:46 to play.

"I think there was a couple of opportunities, for me in looking at the tape, there were two or three opportunities early in the game to throw a flag and set the tone," Blandino said. "You always want to set the tone early. Not make something up, but when something raising to the level of unnecessary roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct we can't miss those opportunities. Because that sets the tone for the entire game."

Beckham was suspended one game by the NFL on Monday. His appeal will be heard Wednesday.

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