Monday night was costly for Odell Beckham Jr., but not as costly as it could have been.
The Giants receiver faces a $24,309 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct arising from the incident on the sideline with Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes. The league office opted not to separately fine Beckham for bumping an official.
Per a source with knowledge of the decision, the official put himself into the fray by trying to break up the potential brouhaha between Beckham and Rhodes, making the contact unavoidable from Beckham’s perspective.
This cuts against the theory that the officials and/or the league are out to get Beckham. Nevertheless, he’ll continue to be a target of agitation by opponents and scrutiny by officials until he can demonstrate on a consistent basis that efforts to get under his skin are useless.