NFL free agent Odell Beckham Jr. was kicked off a flight after he refused to put on his seat belt prior to a flight’s departure.
According to the Miami-Dade police report and The Miami Herald, Beckham, aka OBJ, was observed “coming in and out of consciousness,” just before takeoff on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles. The American Airlines crew, fearing that something was wrong with OBJ and that his condition would worsen during the five-hour flight, ordered passengers to deplane when he didn’t obey the American Airlines flight attendant’s commands.
From Miami-Dade Police on Odell Beckham Jr. being removed from a flight this morning: pic.twitter.com/ieD40w4wkv
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 27, 2022
Beckham was neither arrested nor detained but simply escorted to the area where passengers book their flights. American Airlines delivered this statement to Yahoo! Sports reporter Jori Epstein.
NFL free-agent WR Odell Beckham Jr. was removed from a Miami flight bound for LAX this morning. American Airlines confirmed a customer was removed in this statement to @YahooSports: pic.twitter.com/p0MYHaE0X3
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) November 27, 2022
After the plane was evacuated, police escorted Beckham off the plane without incident. Some of the passengers recorded Beckham as he exited the secure area of the Miami International Airport.
Odell Beckham Jr. was kicked off of a flight in Miami, causing a delay after OBJ refused to leave, per @AndySlater
🎥: @TheMalibuArtist pic.twitter.com/AVZLsMgngo
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) November 27, 2022
Dear @AmericanAir why did #OdellBeckhamJr get police escorted off our flight? Why did we all have to get off because of it? We never left yet? @TMZ is gonna have info on this. pic.twitter.com/OxwQ5k8Sjz
— Chris Daly (@ctopherd) November 27, 2022
Later, Beckham sent out cryptic Twitter posts explaining that something dramatic happened to him that he’d never experienced before.
Never in my life have I experienced what just happened to me… I’ve seen it alll..
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) November 27, 2022
I COULD NEVER MAKE THIS UP.
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) November 27, 2022
The episode was newsworthy because Beckham remains one of the NFL’s most popular players since the wide receiver was drafted by the New York Giants out of LSU in 2014.
The 30-year-old Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native had recently made headlines after entering into preliminary discussions with both the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants about possibly joining one of their teams.
OBJ has had multiple team inquiries after healing from his second ACL injury that he suffered during Super Bowl 2022 while playing for the Los Angeles Rams. He caught a touchdown pass that helped the Rams vanquish the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20.
