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Newly released police footage has shown exactly what happened when NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. was escorted from an American Airlines flight at Miami International Airport.
The 30-year-old wide receiver is a free agent after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the Los Angeles Rams win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI in February 2022. Beckham Jr. refused to leave the aircraft, which was beginning to taxi on the runway, after flight crew reported that he was unresponsive.
Beckham Jr. told crew that he was recovering from a night at a club, but there were concerns because he was undressing to his underwear and crew were not happy with the flight taking off with him on board.
Why Was Odell Beckham Jr. Removed From a Plane?
Flight crew raised concerns when Beckham Jr. appeared unresponsive and "took off his pants" prior to take-off on the November 27 flight.
A medical emergency was called, and the plane was halted as fire crews and police responded.
The new footage shows an officer speaking while wearing a body camera, saying: "He was in underwear. He told the [flight attendant] that he's been clubbing all night. He's either drunk, or both: pills and drunk."
The American Airlines crew said that Beckham Jr. would not fasten his seatbelt before arguing with fellow passengers, who were disgruntled at having to deboard so that the star could be escorted from the plane.
Beckham Jr.'s attorney, Daniel Davillier, released a statement at the time disputing police claims that his client was at fault for the hour-and-a-half delay.
What Has New Bodycam Footage Shown of the Odell Beckham Jr. Plane Incident?
The new body-camera footage of the incident has gone viral, with millions of views in the first day of it being released.
It shows the interaction between the officers, crew and Beckham Jr. himself, as well as the NFL star's reaction to other passengers who are asked to deboard during the incident.
Beckham Jr. tweeted after the incident: "Never in my life have I experienced what just happened to me... I've seen it alll.."
He then tweeted: "Never. In. My. Life" and later: "I COULD NEVER MAKE THIS UP."
The footage begins with police checking in with fire rescue and flight crew before speaking to Beckham Jr., who appears groggy.
One of the officers asks: "Do you know where you're at sir?" Another says: "You've been unresponsive."
The officers seemed happy with Beckham Jr.'s demeanor, and the fire crew told the flight attendants that a decision to remove him from the plane was up to them.
The attendants had concerns, and one said: "He told her he just came from a club. And he's taken something."
One female flight attendant was unhappy about taking off with Beckham Jr. on board in that state, and she said: "He's mad at us because we called you. We said, 'We're worried about you.' I don't know if he's going to deteriorate when we're in the air."
One of the officers replied: "We have a procedure that we have to follow. If he refuses to get off, we're going to have to deboard everybody."
Beckham Jr. is eventually told that he will have to be escorted from the plane, which led to some angry exchanges with fellow passengers.
The football star was apologetic to the officers and admitted that he had "f***** up."
What Was Odell Beckham Jr.'s 'Cheese-Board' Comment?
The mood on the plane deteriorated after passengers were told that they would have to deboard, and there were a number of comments aimed at Beckham Jr. as people gathered their hand luggage.
While Beckham Jr. was reasonably unresponsive with officers and flight crew, he suddenly became animated with his fellow passengers.
He yelled, "Shut the f*** up," at one man who was seated behind him, who urged him to "just get off the plane."
Beckham Jr. then focused on another passenger, who received much of his wrath and the now infamous "cheese-board" comment.
The star said: "You can look at me all you want. This s*** don't bother me.
"I would never, ever in my life, get off the plane for you, specifically you. Maybe for everyone else, I would get off the plane."
Beckham Jr. then added: "You gonna wait 40 minutes, and I'm going to be on a private plane home, with your fat a**. Get your a** off the plane.
"Enjoy the cheese-board on the way home with your ugly a**."
What Has Odell Beckham Jr. Said About the Release of the Footage?
After the release of the footage, Beckham Jr. took to Twitter to write about what happened. He added that he had been trying to keep himself to himself since he got injured in the Super Bowl in February 2022.
He began by tweeting: "Krazy thing is since the SB. I been minding my own biz, staying out the way. Name ain't been in nothin , and even during this free agency frenzy it was never me who caused any of that I beeen QUIET chilllin. "They" wrote the stories. Been enjoyin fatherhood and time wit the fam."
Beckham Jr. then added: "But the one thing that no matter how much I've grown is still the hardest thing for me to do. Is let someone play wit my name. Period. For those tht kno me kno me, u kno exactly how I am. I really be koolin. But.....
"But.....if u press that button and bring a certain energy. Do NOT be surprised when u get that same energy back."
Beckham Jr. continued in another tweet: "I kno who I am. Period. All the rest and opinions really don't matter to me. Have a blessed day and enjoy the [cheese emoji] board!"
He later tweeted: "My favorite least favorite thing about this worlds besides people who don't kno what they're talkin bout.. is we can cut up any video however we want to make it loook exactly how we want GOOD or BAD. Funny world we live in . No [cap emoji]"
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