Jon Beason: Dave Gettleman accused me of faking an injury

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The hits keep on coming when it comes to former players pouncing on former Panthers G.M. Dave Gettleman.

Former Panthers linebacker Jon Beason told WFNZ in Charlotte that Gettleman once made a strong accusation about Beason about Beason’s inability to practice and play with a bad knee.

“For him not to know me and say, ‘Hey, listen, you’re faking this injury.’ Those are harsh words,” Beason said. “Verbatim. ‘C’mon, Jon. You know nothing’s wrong with your knee.'”

Beason was recovering from microfracture surgery, a difficult procedure that in many cases is a coin-flip proposition as to whether the player will ever be the same.

“Obviously, I didn’t like that he was challenging my character, my integrity,” Beason said. “Especially since I love to play football.”

It’s surprising more of these anecdotes didn’t emerge before Gettleman was fired. Yes, there had been rumblings about Gettleman’s bedside manner, but nothing to suggest the open season that has been declared since the moment Gettleman got his pink slip.

15 responses to “Jon Beason: Dave Gettleman accused me of faking an injury

  1. Gee whiz, didn’t Gettleman just get this team to the super bowl? Oh well. Gettleman shouldn’t feel too bad. Belichick has five rings and still has some enemies. I guess that’s life in the big city.

  2. Dave Gettleman was Donald Trump, before Donald Trump was who he is on the national scene. You might say he was the ‘Donald of the NFL’. Rude, abusive, cold, calculated. He demanded loyalty and respect, but never gave any to the guys who played.

    The first thing Gettleman did was to alienate fans by firing the best Panther of all time. Ego issues, as much anything, got him fired.

    Dude has interpersonal relationship problems. Other than firing or prompting early retirement for starting veteran players, Gettleman, in a very Trumpian fashion, wanted to be the story. Instead of protecting his MVP QB, he has left Cam naked, with no protection.

    He also left Cam without any play-makers. It was a terrible hire and we all know why a man 60+ years old, never made it to a GM job. I’m glad to see him go.

  3. Gettleman should have called him an injury prone thief. Gettleman probably said this to him. It’s in the teams best interest for players to play through pain. It’s not in the players best interest. When Beason was on the field he was often very effective. Way to pile on Gettleman after he was fired.

  4. With the exception of Josh Norman and Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams these days (he was a bit less obnoxious when playing in Carolina), the vets that the Panthers parted ways with were heads down, quiet kind of guys. Jordan Gross certainly was. Jon Beason certainly was. Thomas Davis and Greg Olson, the two he was rumored to be stiffing, certainly are team player kind of guys. So it’s not surprising to me that they would not say much. I am not saying I definitively side against Gettlemen, but these guys are not really the outspoken loudmouth type. That’s probably why Jerry Richardson didn’t like how they were treated-they were character guys who gave a lot to the team, and because of their injuries or age Gettlemen let them go.

    It might have been a sound football decision in some of their cases (Steve Smith maybe could have stuck around for another couple of seasons, possibly Jordan Gross if he chose to and Gettlemen offered him-which would not have happened), but Richardon’s always been a guy values those who gave their well being to the team. Cutting ties with Norman or Smith due to salary issues is one thing, cutting ties to Thomas Davis and Greg Olson or low-balling them is quite another. Gettlemen was, in my mind, a good G.M., but if you don’t show loyalty to your players who showed loyalty to you and that’s a thing your owner values, then you’ll be fired.

    Maybe Richardson would have signed off on Gettlemen releasing them if he felt that Gettlemen tried and failed to get a fair deal done. But if he felt that Gettlemen didn’t try, coupled with how he’s handled the actual departure itself of guys like Steve Smith, DeAngelo Williams, Jordan Gross, and even Josh Norman, then Richardson would definitely be pulling the trigger.

  5. Come on Jon.

    You are trying to deny Gettleman his first amendment right to protest against your injury.

    More importantly, why doesnt Gettleman have a job?

  6. thatneuneu says:
    Jul 17, 2017 10:16 PM
    Yea, he was a jerk. Just like the athletes he signed and dropped, talent means nothing when you have poor character.
    ____________________________________

    Yeah all of the best players are high character guys….

  7. Beasons’ story doesn’t quite add up. He claims Gettleman questioned his injury in 2011, but DG didn’t get hired until after the 2012 season. Maybe Beason or the writer were just confused, but the timeline offered by Beason via the article doesn’t add up.

  8. The main issue with DG was that all he really wanted to do was study film. When it came to actually dealing with humans, he has always struggled. He did have Brandon Beane to help him, but since Beane went to Buffalo, there was no go-between, and I think the simmering feud with Thomas Davis and Greg Olsen became boiled over. DG is a good scout, but never had the needed people skills.

  9. This just seems to be a guy who was promoted above his pay grade. He’s a scout and not cut out for management because of his poor people skills. It happens.

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