NFL star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., currently a free agent, was removed from an American Airlines flight by police before takeoff in Miami after not buckling his seatbelt. Beckham reportedly appeared to be unconscious.
Odell Beckham Jr. removed from Miami flight by cops
Police officers were called to respond to a “medical emergency” on a flight at Miami International Airport that was headed to Los Angeles and found the individual in distress was NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr, the NFL reported.
Odell Beckham Jr., who last played with the Browns and Rams in 2021 and is currently a free agent, was removed from an American Airlines flight by police before takeoff at Miami International Airport after officers say he failed to respond to a request to buckle his seatbelt and appeared to be unconscious, CBS reported.
“Fearing that Mr. Beckham was seriously ill and that his condition would worsen through the expected 5-hour flight, (flight crew members) called for police and fire rescue,” said Miami Dade Police Officer Luis Sierra in a statement following the incident. “As they tried to wake (Beckham) to fasten his seat belt, he appeared to be coming in and out of consciousness.”
“Upon the officers’ arrival, the flight crew asked Mr. Beckham several times to exit the aircraft, which he refused,” the police statement continued. “The aircraft was deplaned, at which time Mr. Beckham was asked by the officers to exit the plane, and did so without incident.”
“Mr. Beckham was escorted to the non-secure area of the terminal by the officers where he made other arrangements,” the police statement added.
Beckham was not detained nor cited, according to NFL Network Insider.
According to a statement issued by Beckham’s attorney, Daniel Davilier, Odell was asleep due to a flight delay, and “at no time was Mr. Beckham disruptive or combative.”
“Mr. Beckham fell asleep with his blanket over his head, which is his normal practice for long flights,” Davilier said. “He was awakened and told that the plane was back at the gate and that he needed to get off the plane because he did not put his seatbelt on when asked.”
“He responded that he was asleep, and that he would put his seatbelt on at that time,” Beckham’s attorney’s statement continued. He was informed that it was too late, and that either he would have to get off the plane or everyone would have to deplane.”
“That incident was unnecessary,” Beckham’s attorney added. “Sleeping on a plane should not be a cause for removal from a flight. If they could wake him up when the flight returned to the gate, then they could have done the same thing to ask him to put on his seatbelt.”
“Never in my life have I experienced what just happened to me… I’ve seen it all,” Odell Beckham Jr. later commented in a tweet.
Odell Beckham Jr. meeting with 3 prospective NFL teams
Odell Beckham Jr. is currently recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered during Super Bowl LVI, and was scheduled to meet with the New York Giants (who drafted him in the first round in 2014), then was planning to meet with the Dallas Cowboys, and later with the Buffalo Bills.
With the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI, Beckham scored the game’s first touchdown on a 17-yard reception. He sustained a knee injury in the second quarter and did not return to the game. The next day it was revealed he had a torn ACL. The injury occurred less than a year and a half since he tore it playing for the Browns in 2020.
After initially publicizing an intention to sign Beckham Jr., Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones put the brakes on the signing due to the continued recovery time needed from Odell’s torn anterior cruciate ligament. If the Cowboys had signed Beckham, they would have had to place him on injured reserve after he spent a day on the active roster. Then he would have to miss four games on injured reserve, which would have kept him out until at least the wild-card round of the playoffs.
The Cowboys needed an immediate solution and signed veteran free agent receiver T.Y. Hilton, in part because he was able to play right away, ESPN reported.
However, Jones said he was “not dismissing” the possibility of signing Beckham in the future, according to the Bleacher Report.
