The Carolina Panthers aren’t going to be bringing any non-football equipment on the field with them any time soon.
Panthers coach Ron Rivera announced Tuesday that baseball bats would be banned for his team after photos and videos surfaced of cornerback Josh Norman and practice squad player Marcus Ball carrying a black bat onto the field during pregame warmups Sunday against the New York Giants. The two reportedly motioned the bat Odell Beckham Jr.’s direction, which caused the Giants wide receiver to seriously lose his cool during the game.
“(The NFL) is the ‘No Fun League’ for a reason,” Rivera said, per ESPN.com.
There also were claims that Ball directed homophobic slurs toward Beckham, but Rivera said he believed the safety’s denial. Rivera was clear that he would have taken action if Ball did use slurs, though.
“If there’s something else out there that happened, tell us,” Rivera said. “We don’t tolerate that here.”
As for the bat, it’s apparently a Panthers tradition, but it put Beckham on edge before what wound up being a scrappy game. Beckham eventually pulled a dirty helmet-to-helmet hit on Norman and was suspended for one game even though the play went unflagged. He’s appealing the suspension.
Rivera’s bat ban was mimicked by the NFL after he spoke Tuesday, too.
Thumbnail photo via Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports Images
