Odell Beckham Jr. removed from flight; Ex-Giants receiver blames ‘overzealous flight attendant’ – The Mercury News

Odell Beckham Jr. was removed from a flight on Sunday morning after raising concerns he was ‘seriously ill’ and refused to leave the plane, Miami-Dade police said – although the former receiver wide of the Giants strongly disputed their story.

Beckham ‘appeared to flick in and out of consciousness’ after an American Airlines flight crew tried to wake him up so he could fasten his seatbelt before departing Miami International Airport, police said at the Daily News.

Beckham repeatedly refused to leave the plane at the request of the crew, according to police, who were called to the scene for what they described as a medical emergency.

“The plane was disembarked, at which point officers asked Mr. Beckham to exit the plane, and he did so without incident,” police said. “Mr Beckham was escorted to the unsecured area of ​​the terminal by officers where he made further arrangements.

The incident happened around 9.30am, with crew members fearing Beckham’s health could worsen on a five-hour flight to Los Angeles.

A lawyer for Beckham dismissed that account and blamed the incident on “an overzealous flight attendant”.

Lawyer Daniel Davillier said Beckham fell asleep “with his blanket over his head” on the plane, “which is his normal practice for long flights”. He was then told he had to get off because he had not fastened his seat belt, the lawyer added. When Beckham offered to put on his seat belt, “he was told it was too late and either he should get off the plane or everyone should disembark.”

“At no time was Mr. Beckham disruptive or combative,” Davillier said in a statement to The News. “He was prepared to comply with the seat belt requirement, but the flight attendant wanted to prove he had the authority to have Mr Beckham removed from the flight.

“This incident was completely unnecessary,” he added, noting that Beckham’s luggage had been sent to Los Angeles without him. “Sleeping on a plane shouldn’t be cause for expulsion from a flight. If they could have woken him up when the flight came back to the gate, they could have done the same and woke him up to ask him to put on his seatbelt.

The flight finally took off at 10:54 a.m., American Airlines said.

Beckham, 30, who is currently an NFL free agent, referenced the incident in a series of tweets on Sunday.

“Never in my life have I experienced what just happened to me,” Beckham wrote. “I have seen everything.”

“I CAN NEVER DO THIS,” Beckham added, along with another post reading, “hr comedy.”

Louisiana-born Beckham spent his first five NFL seasons with the Giants, recording 390 receptions for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns from 2014 to 2018 and making three Pro Bowls.

A first-round pick from Louisiana State University, Beckham was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2014 – a season marked by his acrobatic one-handed catch against the Dallas Cowboys.

Beckham also played for the Cleveland Browns and the Los Angeles Rams, with whom he won his first Super Bowl title earlier this year. He scored a touchdown in that game but tore his ACL in his left knee shortly after, marking the second straight season he suffered the injury.

Beckham is expected to sign with an NFL team soon for the remainder of the 2022 season, with the 7-4 Giants set to meet the star this week.

“Obviously he knows we want him here,” Giants receiver Sterling Shepard, a close friend and former teammate of Beckham’s, told The News last week. “He would like to be here. But everything must play out for this to happen.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and several team players publicly campaigned for Beckham to sign with 8-3 Dallas.

The Buffalo Bills are also considered a candidate to sign Beckham.

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