Panthers brought baseball bats onto field before game, reportedly threatened Beckham

Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman brought a baseball bat onto the field before Sunday's game against the New York Giants and members of the team threatened Odell Beckham Jr., ESPN's Adam Schefter reports.

Norman reportedly swung the bat on the sideline during pregame warmups to get the attention of his opponent.

Video taken from the field appears to confirm this:

Deion Sanders said on the "Rich Eisen Show" that Panthers players threatened Beckham by telling him they would end his career and making sexual slurs.

According to Schefter, this put Beckham in a frame of mind that led to his actions during the game.

Beckham and Norman scuffled several times after the opening whistle, with Beckham at one point appearing to target Norman with a deliberate head shot. Beckham received a one-game suspension Monday for his conduct.

After the allegations broke, injured Panthers cornerback Bene Benwikere claimed the bat symbolizes his presence:

Benwikere pointed out that the Panthers have used the bat as part of their pregame routine prior to Sunday's game:

A Panthers spokesman echoed this line of thought, saying the team's defensive backs routinely use a baseball bat as a pregame prop because it ''represents them bringing the wood and making home-run plays on defense.''