It's been 10 days since New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. got into several altercations with members of the Carolina Panthers that resulted in his one-game suspension. Beckham was asked for the first time Wednesday about reports that he was the target of gay slurs prior to the game.
Q: What about the reports of gay slurs being directed at you?
A: Words are words (chuckle). Words are words.
That is the sum total of the exchange as reported by Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. It is unclear whether there were any followup questions. With that non-response, it is clear that Beckham is not going to publicly discuss this.
What's odd is that the Giants' official stance is that Beckham was subjected to slurs, even though Beckham did not bring them up at his appeal hearing and the NFL said they found no evidence. Doubly odd is that ex-player Deion Sanders said he heard Beckham's "sexuality" being questioned before the game, and that ex-receivers Cris Carter and Michael Irvin say that Beckham has heard gay slurs this season.
It seems that Beckham may be saying one thing in private and another public and apparently wants the whole thing to go away. I can't say I blame him since if he did affirm that gay slurs were used, it would lead to a whole host of questions that would keep the issue alive. This is something neither he nor the NFL wants.
"Words are words" could imply that slurs were indeed used, since it's not a denial, but it's vague enough that for now the issue is over and done with as far as Beckham is concerned.
