Odell Beckham Jr., an NFL free-agent wide receiver, was removed from a plane on Sunday after the flight crew allegedly noticed him “coming in and out of consciousness,” according to Miami-Dade police.
According to the Miami-Dade Police Department, flight attendants were concerned that Beckham was “seriously ill,” but he refused to leave the plane.
Below is the statement from the Miami-Dade Police Department:
At approximately 9:30 a.m., officers from the Miami-Dade Police Department, were dispatched to a medical emergency at an American Airlines flight. 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.
Upon the officers arrival, the flight crew asked Mr. Beckham several times to exit the aircraft, which he refused.
The aircraft was deplaned, at which time Mr. Beckham was asked by the officers to exit the plane, and did so without incident. Mr. Beckham was escorted to the non-secure area of the terminal by the officers where he made other arrangements.
A video of Beckham getting off the plane was posted online, with a caption, “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.”
A number of others who claimed to be on his flight tweeted about how his actions had caused a delay.
No official charges were filed against Beckham, and he was not detained.
American Airlines released the following statement:
“Flight 1228, with service from Miami to Los Angeles, returned to the gate before takeoff due to a customer failing to follow crew member instructions and refusing to fasten their seatbelt. The customer was removed and the flight re-departed at 10:54 a.m. local time,” roughly an hour and a half after its scheduled takeoff.”
Beckham took to Twitter on Sunday regarding the incident.