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Goodell proposes what might be called Odell Beckham Jr. Rule

SAN FRANCISCO — Call it the Odell Beckham Jr. Rule.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is pushing to require the ejection of any player who is flagged for two personal fouls in a game.

“We should take that out of the hands of the officials when it gets to that point. They will obviously have to throw the flag, but when they do, we will look to see if we can reach an agreement on the conditions for which (a player would) be ejected,” Goodell said Friday at his annual state-of-the-league news conference ahead of the Super Bowl.

“I believe that’s consistent with what we believe are the safety issues,” he said, “but I also believe it’s consistent with what we believe are the standards of sportsmanship.”

In December, Beckham, a receiver for the New York Giants, was allowed to stay in a game despite drawing three personal-foul penalties for unnecessary roughness, including one for a diving helmet-to-helmet hit on cornerback Josh Norman, whose Carolina Panthers will play in Sunday’s Super Bowl. The two players engaged in all sorts of pro wrestling-style shenanigans throughout the game, and Beckham eventually was suspended for New York’s next game.

“I thought both of them should have been ejected back then,” Giants owner John Mara said, “but maybe if we had this rule, it would make it a little bit more clearer.”

Goodell said he had already recommended to the league’s competition committee that it consider the rule change.

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