Free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was kicked off a flight headed from Miami to Los Angeles on Sunday morning, the Miami-Dade Police Department announced. Beckham allegedly didn’t have his seat belt fastened and slipped in and out of consciousness when the crew tried to get him to buckle up, causing the flight to be delayed and eventually requiring everyone on the flight to deboard.
“The flight crew was concerned that a passenger (Mr. Odell Beckham Jr.) 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,” the department said in a statement, via NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. “Fearing that Mr. Beckham was seriously ill, and that his condition would worsen through the expected five hour flight, the crew called for police and fire rescue.”
The statement goes on to say that Beckham wouldn’t get off the plane until police became involved, at which point he did without incident.
American Airlines also released a statement, saying that Beckham was asked to leave the plane for “failing to follow crew members instructions and refusing to fasten (his) seatbelt.”
A video shows Beckham exiting the plane with his bags and leaving an airport tunnel surrounded by security.
In response, Beckham tweeted his disbelief that he was forced off the plane by the crew.
“Never in my life have I experienced what just happened to me…I’ve seen it alll,” he wrote.
Beckham, who tore his ACL in Super Bowl LVI, is healthy and preparing to take visits with playoff-caliber teams before choosing where to sign.
