Ronn Torossian

Ronn Torossian

New York Giants superstar receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is known for humiliating defensive backs, making wild catches, lighting up scoreboards and tearing open games. He’s one of Eli Manning’s favorite targets and a fan favorite in New York.

But, lately, neither the league nor its officials have been showing him much love. Of course, it’s fair to say he’s bringing some of it on himself. Never known to be too terribly quiet, Beckham ended up getting into a verbal altercation with game officials during what would eventually be a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The (mostly) one-sided argument escalated until Beckham directed language at an official that the league later described as “verbal abuse and excessive profanity.”

Now, given what officials routinely hear from coaches, players and fans, it’s difficult to imagine what actually constitutes “excessive” profanity. But, apparently, Roger Goodell and the powers that be know it when they hear it. The result of the incident was more than $12,000 in fines.

But there’s a wrinkle that has some raising eyebrows. Is the fine really for in-game activity, or was it a slap on the wrist because ODB had the audacity to critique the officiating crew after the game, saying, among other things, that referee Terry McAulay’s crew should not be allowed to work any future Giants games? These comments were made in an interview to reporters … a public sock in the eye to a league that does not appreciate such “outbursts” of honest opinion from their players.

Beckham has been fined multiple times this season prior to this incident, including a $36,000 fine for unnecessary roughness during a game in September and more than $24,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct in October. While Beckham has always been a flashy player, he's also always been about making a statement on the field as opposed to the postgame interview. But sometimes, losing can take the luster off the game, and has a habit of making people a bit too open and honest about what they really think.

All of this noise isn’t likely to really affect the Odell Beckham brand; he seems to be a firebrand anti-hero to rally around. It’s getting late in the year, and the Giants don’t have too much hope of catching the Cowboys in the NFC East, but NYC’s football team has backed into the playoffs to become a spoiler before, and, if they get hot at the right time, could do so again. Plus, if things continue, they have an inside track of coming in as the 4th of 5th seed, avoiding the hot Dallas buzzsaw.

And all of that winning, of course, can even more so help the Beckham brand.

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Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, one of America’s leading independently owned PR Agencies.