Since tearing his ACL last February, Odell Beckham has yet to find a job, hurting his chances of NFL employment with a recent incident on a flight to Los Angeles. American Airlines ejected him from the plane, claiming the three-time Pro Bowler was unresponsive when asked to buckle his seatbelt for takeoff. Details of Beckham’s mishap had been scarce, until earlier this week when Miami-Dade Police released bodycam footage showing his hostile encounter with a fellow passenger, hurling insults at a man exiting the plane. A flight attendant had also claimed in the video that Beckham removed his pants, further indicating the 30-year-old, in his present condition, was unfit to fly.
“You gonna’ wait 40 minutes, and I'm going to be on a private plane home, with your fat ass. Get your ass off the plane,” said Beckham during the confrontation. “Enjoy the cheese board on the way home with your ugly ass.”
Harassing a stranger isn’t a great look for a famously high-maintenance player, with Beckham’s maturity issues dating all the way back to his time with the New York Giants. Beckham had been on a Hall-of-Fame trajectory early in his career, though his off-field baggage has, at times, been a deterrent to his NFL success, alienating teammates and coaches with his erratic behavior and combative locker-room demeanor.
Beckham seemed to address the controversy on Twitter, suggesting the incident was blown out of proportion, citing it as another instance of the media making a mountain out of a molehill. OBJ struck a similar tone when the subject was raised during his recent appearance on The Shop with host Maverick Carter, insisting that all he regretted was not buckling his seatbelt before falling asleep.
Beckham made the free-agent rounds about a month ago, though none of his visits resulted in a contract offer with a number of teams confused by his reluctance to work out. Those same teams were similarly put off by his sense of entitlement, assuming he could swoop in for the playoffs without any regular-season reps.
Though Beckham’s diva tendencies no doubt make him an acquired taste, his career renaissance in Los Angeles last year should grant him another opportunity in 2023, assuming there aren’t any lingering concerns over his surgically-repaired knee.
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