Panthers Coach Ron Rivera says ‘bat thing’ will no longer be used for motivation

More fallout from the Odell Beckham Jr.-Josh Norman spectacle from Sunday afternoon.

First the New York Giants lost star receiver Beckham to a one-game suspension for his aggressive behavior, which resulted in three unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties, during a game Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

Now the Panthers are losing the bats some players would carry on the sideline during pregame warm-ups to use as a motivational prop.

Doesn’t sound like that big of a deal until you consider that Carolina is two wins away from the second 16-0 regular season in NFL history. Might not be a good idea to mess with any rituals at this point.

But Coach Ron Rivera is doing just that, telling reporters Tuesday that he’s ending the “bat thing,” according to Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer.

Reports surfaced Monday that Beckham may have been upset after Panthers players allegedly used bats while taunting and possibly threatening him during pregame activities. Practice squad member Marcus Ball was seen getting into a verbal altercation with Beckham while holding a bat.

The Panthers counted 12 incidents instigated by Beckham during the game, according to the Observer, with 10 of those involving Norman.

Rivera maintained that the fuss over the bats was overblown, saying that other teams have used them as props, and he said he wondered if the controversy is “someone’s attempt at spin control.”

Still, Rivera said, he’s pulling the plug “because I’ll hear [about] it. ... It’s the No Fun League for a reason.”

The coach also said he’s disappointed over reports about Carolina players uttering threats and homophobic slurs toward Beckham.

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“I’m a little disappointed in it, to be quite honest, because a lot of it has been assumptions and innuendos,” Rivera said. “We’ve not heard from Odell. He hasn’t released a statement. Their organization hasn’t released a statement. But I keep hearing all these things that everybody else is saying.

“So that disappoints me because if there’s something out there that’s factual, there’s truth, there’s hard evidence, please present it to us as well so we can react accordingly. We don’t tolerate that here.”

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