Ex-Panther Beason sheds light on Gettleman's antagonistic antics
Jon Beason played six seasons for the Carolina Panthers as regular Pro Bowler and a fan favorite - until Dave Gettleman arrived.
The now-fired general manager of the Panthers sent Beason packing three games into his first year with the team, shipping him to the New York Giants for a measly seventh-round pick.
While Beason understands the nature of business in the NFL, he was not impressed with Gettleman's people skills and shed some light on one of the reasons the GM was let go Monday.
"The way that the trade went down between the Giants and the Panthers when I moved on from the Carolina Panthers, it was done in a way that wasn't classy," Beason told CBS Sports on Monday. "I didn't want to be the disgruntled player who's saying this, saying that because he was traded.
"But at the end of the day, you're a first-round pick, you played extremely well for an organization, you're one of the key guys on the team, a new GM comes in and doesn't even give you a handshake on your way out the door."
Related: Was Gettleman's reluctance to extend star veterans reason for firing?
Beason came to accept his departure from Carolina, but kept in touch with players and people within the organisation. From what he's heard, Gettleman may have put a successful product on the field, but off of it, he wasn't helping things.
"On all accounts, from what I've been told, there's been a lot of disconnect," said Beason. "One, with the draft. There's the disconnect with the way he treats the players ...
"There's guys that are on that team, in that locker room, that basically felt like this is who Gettleman was and he was almost on this ego trip."
Beason also pointed to Jerry Richardson as a potential cause for Gettleman's dismissal due to the owner's dislike for people attempting to dictate him.
In a separate media appearance Monday, the retired All-Pro linebacker also opened up about a disagreement between himself and Gettleman when the general manager accused Beason of faking a knee injury in 2013 after he had missed 27 games over the previous two seasons from injuries.
"For him not to know me and say, 'Hey, listen, you're faking this injury.' Those are harsh words," Beason told WFNZ, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. "Verbatim. 'C'mon, Jon. You know nothing's wrong with your knee'
"Obviously, I didn't like that he was challenging my character, my integrity."