In November, several Miami-Dade police officers escorted Odell Beckham Jr. off an American Airlines flight. At the time, reports said the NFL free agent received the boot for failing to comply with safety protocols.
Following Odell’s removal, Miami-Dade PD released a statement. They revealed a medical emergency notification that came in at 9:30 a.m. local time on November 27, 2022.
The flight crew told police and fire rescue Odell “appeared to be coming in and out of consciousness” before departure to Los Angeles. Police said the attendants “[feared] that Mr. Beckham was seriously ill and his condition would worsen through the expected 5-hour flight.”
But, newly released bodycam footage shows AA flight attendants insisting on Beckham’s removal from the flight, despite a wellness clearance from emergency personnel.
What Happened Before Odell Beckham Jr. Was Removed From American Airlines Flight
In November, the only footage was of Odell walking through the airport after his removal. After making separate travel arrangements, the athlete released a series of tweets highlighting the incident.
Beckham Jr. tweeted:
“Never in my life have I experienced what just happened to me…I’ve seen it all.” He added, “I could never make this up,” in a separate tweet.
In the new footage, an officer wakes Beckham Jr., who appears to be in first-class. The officer asks Odell if he can get up and if he’s okay, to which the athlete responds, “yeah.” Beckham Jr. sits up and looks around, seemingly dazed. Several police officers continued questioning him, apparently trying to make sure Odell was conscious of his current location.
At one point, someone believed to be emergency personnel says, “he’s very tired. He looks good to me, though.”
But a female flight attendant standing nearby didn’t seem convinced. She asked officers about Odell’s pants, saying, “where’s his pants? Where’s the baby’s pants.” An officer reassured her Odell was wearing pants, but a few seconds later, a flight attendant off-camera told another officer Odell wasn’t wearing pants before their arrival.
The officers walked the flight crew to a small passageway on the plane, insisting they were “good.” But, again, the female flight attendant who initially mentioned Odell’s pants didn’t seem convinced by the officer’s clearance. She explained her attempts to wake Odell to put his seatbelt on with apparent frustration.
Police then told her they could remove Beckham Jr. but that the decision had to come from the captain and crew. The female attendant and several others reverted to their attempts to wake Beckham, then claimed Beckham said he was fresh out of the club.
Odell Exchanges Words With Another American Airlines Passenger During De-Boarding
The medical professional didn’t physically check Odell but told the crew he seemed “tired” several times. Still, eventually several of them agreed he should be removed. One woman cited that Odell was “already mad” that they called the police.
However, the only instance we see Odell aggravated in the footage is during an exchange with another passenger. Because the flight attendants insisted on removing Odell, who initially refused to deboard, the whole plane had to be cleared.
“You gon’ wait forty minutes, and I’m gon be on a private plane home,” Odell told a male passenger. The other passenger said, “enjoy yourself.” Odell responded, “yeah, I will. Get your a** off the plane. Enjoy the cheese board on the way home with your ugly a**.”
It’s unclear what popped off the exchange but swipe below to see the video clips.
Neither Odell nor American Airlines have publicly responded to the story.
