Odell Beckham Jr. was escorted off a plane at Miami International Airport by police officers on Sunday morning. He would take to Twitter and frame tweets that alluded to the incident and how he responded made it seem like he was done wrong.
Miami-Dade police officers were dispatched to a medical emergency aboard an American Airlines flight bound for Los Angeles when flight crew told officers they were concerned for Beckham’s safety after they attempted to wake him in order for him to fasten his seat belt. He would be asked several times to leave the plan, but he refused and as a result the aircraft was deplaned.
The footage then showed Odell leaving the plane without incident.
Hours later, his lawyer would release a statement on the matter that contradicted everything that was said about him.
Earlier today, Odell Beckham Jr boarded a morning flight in Miami without any problems. The flight was delayed after boarding and prior to take off. Mr Beckham fell asleep with his blanket over his head, which is his normal practice for long flights. He was awaken 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. 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.
The overzealous flight attendant insisted on removing everyone from the plane instead of simply allowing Mr Beckham to fasten his seatbelt and proceed with the flight. At no time was Mr Beckham disruptive or combative. He was willing to comply with the seatbelt requirement, but the flight attendant wanted to prove that he had the authority to have Mr Beckham removed from the flight. The airline proceeded to send Mr Beckham’s luggage to Los Angeles without him.
That incident was unnecessary. 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.
Beckham has not played in the NFL since last season’s Super Bowl, where he suffered a torn ACL during the second quarter while playing for the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams.
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He is nearing a return and is considering signing with several teams, including the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. Beckham was not detained or charged by police, and officers did not indicate any investigation was being conducted into the incident on the airplane.
This incident is likely to not deter anything going forward and will be forgotten within 24 to 48 hours.
