New bodycam footage of NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr being removed from an American Airlines flight last November has been released, and the video shows Odell remonstrating with other passengers after they follow the orders of flight attendants to deplane the aircraft.
The other passengers were being deplaned at the request of Miami Dade law enforcement so that Odell could be removed from the aircraft – by force if necessary – after he refused to deplane of his own volition.
Law enforcement and EMTs had been called to the aircraft after flight attendants were unable to wake Odell as the aircraft was taxiing to the runway for a transcontinental flight to Los Angeles.
Odell’s lawyer blamed an “overzealous” flight attendant for the incident and insisted that Odell was capable and willing to fasten his seatbelt as soon he was aware that the aircraft had returned to the gate because the crew couldn’t wake him.
The new bodycam footage shows the conversations between different flight attendants and law enforcement and appears to show a genuine concern for Odell’s welfare which prompted medical responders to be called to the aircraft.
After a short discussion, the flight attendants decide that Odell shouldn’t be allowed to travel because they feared his condition might deteriorate during the five-hour flight.
But with Odell refusing to deplane, the flight attendants order all the other passengers off the aircraft. The willingness of his seatmates to follow those instructions, however, appears to aggravate Odell, who is then seen remonstrating with other passengers and using slurs.
At one point, Odell mocks a passenger as he boasts that he’ll soon be on a private jet to Los Angeles while they’ll still be stuck in the airport.
In a statement, the Miami-Dade Police Department said they were called over concerns a passenger was ‘slipping in and out of consciousness’ and that the flight crew feared for his safety.
Odell’s lawyer said he had simply fallen asleep with a blanket over his head – which is normal practice for Odell. The bodycam footage claims Odell was tired because he had been partying at a nightclub prior to the flight.
The paramedic is not there to diagnose, he has no first hand information of this person’s behavior before he got there. The passenger either was drunk or high, faking sleep or uncooperative. The need for having your seatbelt on, seat in the upright position and being able to follow simple commands from the flight attendants are BARE MINIMUM requirements to fly. He obviously is not fit to fly, and should leave the plane. I don’t care who he is.