Despite the claims of a Boston sports fan account on Twitter, rumors of Odell Beckham joining Kyrie Irving in a New England revolution seem exaggerated.
Fake news isn’t just for politics anymore, as the phenomenon has apparently swept up New York Giants superstar receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Thanks to a video posted by Boston sports fan Twitter account Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS), word spread across social media that Beckham promised he would don a new shade of blue, that of the New England Patriots, at last weekend’s NBA All-Star Game. Talking with recent New England transferee Kyrie Irving, an NBA All-Star who migrated from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Boston Celtics last summer, prior to tip-off, Only In Boston’s tweet, posted on Friday morning, indicated that Beckham clearly expressed an intention to join Irving in Boston by joining the Patriots.
The snippet of their conversation occurs around the 23-second mark of the video, which was showcasing the numerous celebrities that took in Sunday night’s memorable exhibition at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
During the NBA All-Star Game, Odell Beckham Jr. told Kyrie Irving that he wants to go to the Patriots. pic.twitter.com/n4rhwCR592
— Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) February 23, 2018
Despite the tweet’s confidence in Beckham’s words, the audio and evidence is anything but crystal clear. Beckham clearly remarks to Irving that “You went to the Celtics”, but his further words are somewhat drowned out by arena noise. Several Twitter users claimed that it sounded more like Beckham concluded the sentence with the playful threat “So don’t talk to me”. At no point does Beckham appear to use the word “Patriots”.
However, that didn’t stop fans of both the Giants and Patriots from irrational social media responses.
If Patriots get Odell Beckham Jr. I'm growing his curly hair and dying it blonde.
— Micena (@SportsTalkKyle) February 17, 2018
Headline in 2020;
“Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham connected for 4 TD’s as the Patriots route the Buffalo Bills once again.”— Austyn Weglage (@Weglage32) February 13, 2018
The video was originally posted on the NBA’s official Twitter account on Thursday afternoon. Beckham is seen later in the video shaking hands with team captain LeBron James before addressing the camera with further praises toward James, who earned MVP honors in his team’s 148-145 victory over a team captained by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
Based on Beckham’s previous NBA exploits, it’s not surprising that he wouldn’t be pleased about Irving’s new Celtics duds. The receiver is a close friend of James, as the two have trained together in Los Angeles during the offseason. James also sent Beckham numerous gifts during All-Star weekend.
The Cleveland superstar was paired with Irving for three seasons, reaching the NBA Finals in each year. The two led the Cavaliers to their first NBA championship in 2016, famously overcoming a 3-1 series deficit to defeat Golden State. Irving and his new green comrades currently rank second in the Eastern Conference with a 42-19 record, 5.5 games ahead of the third-place Cavaliers.
Beckham’s conversation with Irving isn’t the first New England interaction he’s had this offseason. He engaged in a comment section rap battle with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on Instagram, where he later posted an image of a Brady jersey in his account’s “story”.
Odell Beckham Jr. is a bigger Tom Brady fan than you. pic.twitter.com/h6t6X3Hzhg
— Tyler Sullivan (@TylerSully) February 17, 2018
Beckham’s week was capped off with the apparent declaration that he would play no snaps in preseason play.
The reaction stemming from both his zero tweet and supposed New England defection prompted Beckham to speak out from his Twitter account, calling out the spreaders of dubious reports.
People take things a little too serious sometimes… quick to write a story , but hey anything for a couple of likes in this world. Lol it's so sad that's the world we live in. Wonder if we’ll ever change!?
— Odell Beckham Jr (@OBJ_3) February 24, 2018
Grow up. Please. I’m tryna do the same.
— Odell Beckham Jr (@OBJ_3) February 24, 2018
That’s alll I wanna do. What if we lived in a world where we did nothin but encouraged others, kept it real at the same time, but do more encouraging instead of puttin each other down.. ?hmm https://t.co/aNwzeRHmNA
— Odell Beckham Jr (@OBJ_3) February 24, 2018
Beckham is slated to return from a season-ending ankle injury sustained in October.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffMags5490
