The Panthers fired general manager Dave Gettleman on Monday to the surprise of many, but we’ve already heard a number of former players bash their former boss. One of those is former linebacker Jon Beason, a fan favorite whom Gettleman traded to the Giants in 2013.
On Monday, Beason claimed that Gettleman once accused him of faking an injury to keep from practicing and playing. Here’s what he told WFNZ’s Josh Parcell and Omar Gaither, as transcribed by ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio:
“For him not to know me and say, ‘Hey, listen, you’re faking this injury.’ Those are harsh words. 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. Especially since I love to play football.”
At the time Beason was coming back from a microfracture surgery, which requires several months of recovery that’s notoriously tricky for athletes. Beason called the injury a “50-50” and “almost the worst injury to have.” He suffered in the injury in October 2012 and told WFNZ that Gettleman was trying to force him back for Week 3 of preseason the following year.
Beason wound up getting traded a couple of months later.
[WFNZ]
