Last Sunday, Odell Beckham Jr. was booted from a flight bound for Los Angeles from Miami. According to Daily Mail, “police were called for a medical emergency” involving Beckham Jr. “drifting in and out of consciousness.”
American Airlines said in a statement, “American Airlines flight 1228, with service from Miami (MIA) to Los Angeles (LAX), returned to the gate before takeoff due to a customer failing to follow crew member instructions and refusing to fasten their seat belt.”
But the athlete’s legal team claimed that the flight crew went overboard.
A video of Beckham being escorted away by police sparked an animated discussion on Twitter.
What Happened?
Daily Mail explained that the “flight was scheduled to take off at 9:30 AM from Miami.”
There was an hour and thirty minute delay, allegedly caused by Beckham Jr.
The publication added, “passengers were forced off the plane after Beckham refused to leave at the request of police.”
The Police Chimed In
A statement from the Miami-Dade Police department said:
“The flight crew was concerned for a passenger (Mr. Odell Beckham). As they tried to wake him to fasten his seat belt, he appeared to be coming in and out of consciousness, prior to their departure.”
“Fearing that Mr. Beckham was seriously ill, and that his condition would worsen through the expected 5 hour flight, the attendants called for police and fire rescue.”
Beckham's Legal Team Responded
Beckham’s attorney, Daniel Davilier, said in a statement, “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 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 seat belt on when asked.”
“He responded that he was asleep, and that he would put his seat belt 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 Lawyer Believes The Flight Attendant Was "Overzealous."
Davilier commented, “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.”
A Passenger Filmed Beckham Being Escorted By Police
One person got footage of the athlete being escorted to the ticketing area at the airport in Miami.
The Malibu Artist wrote on Twitter, “forcing us off the plane because you were unresponsive and unruly is not comedy to the hundreds of folks trying to get home, dude. Not cool man.”
The Athlete Took To Twitter
On Twitter, Beckham complained about how he was treated.
“Never in my life have I experienced what just happened to me,” he said. “I’ve seen it all.”
This was followed by, “Never. In. My. Life. I could never make this up.”
He also referred to the incident as “comedy hour.”
Twitter Went Off
Bennett Tett responded to the posted video on Twitter.
“I was on this flight he wasn’t unresponsive he was SLEEP. They tried to wake him up to put on his seat belt a couple times then they got aggressively rude with him and he responded with the same energy. GTFOH”.
Some users disputed whether Tett was even on the plane.
One user, Kimberly Angel, empathized with Beckham Jr.
“Idk, if I’m passed out and wake up to a bunch of crew members telling me to exit the plane for sleeping, I might also refuse and ask questions,” she said. “I wouldn’t call this unruly in the context in which you’re using the term. When my sleep is disturbed, I’m annoyed too lol.”