About Odell Beckham Jr.’s newfound maturity …
The former Giants wide receiver has a knack when it comes to his controversies. He always manages to provide both apologists and detractors something to hang their hats on. The newly-released body cam footage chronicling his late November incident on an American Airlines flight from Miami to Los Angeles is no different. The Beckham pom-pom wavers can latch onto emergency services indicating they felt he could stay on the plane as proof it was all an unfair overreaction and Beckham was wronged.
But that is a few seconds of over 20 minutes of footage. Everything else paints a very unfavorable picture of Beckham. And one that might hang over him as he makes his next swing at a payday this spring.
The flight crew’s concerns about Beckham’s well-being came off as very genuine. You don’t turn a massive coast-to-coast flight around and return to the terminal for a petty power trip. And you don’t make something up like telling cops Beckham’s pants were off at one point. The flight captain’s decision to remove Beckham from the flight seems reasonable given the circumstances.
Emergency services were polite and professional. Everything was done according to protocol. And it was Beckham who refused to comply with the decision, turning the entire incident into a spectacle — and seemingly because he wanted to. He knew darn well the entire flight would be forced to deplane if he did not leave. He didn’t care. And he behaved like a petulant, selfish jerk, profanely ripping into one passenger who took umbrage to his behavior.
Will the body cam footage keep Beckham from finding a job when free agency opens in March? Probably not. Someone will sign him, and likely for more money than is prudent. But the combination of this behavior — on video, no less — and Beckham’s age and injury history certainly has to give potential suitors some pause.
Stay away, Giants. Stay away.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com
