MIAMI — NFL free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was removed from a flight on Sunday morning after crew members were concerned about his health, police in Florida said.
According to a statement from American Airlines, the incident happened on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles when a customer failed “to follow crew member instructions” and refused “to fasten their seatbelt.”
The customer in question was identified as Beckham Jr. by the Miami-Dade Police Department in a statement to the Associated Press.
According to the police department, officers responded to the American Airlines flight at around 9:30 a.m. in regards to a medical emergency.
Police said the flight crew was trying to tell Beckham Jr. to put on his seat belt before departure but that “he appeared to be coming in and out of consciousness.”
Police said the flight attendants feared Beckham Jr. was “seriously ill,” which led them to call police and fire-rescue crews.
According to police, Beckham Jr. refused to leave the plane after being asked several times by the crew members.
Police said the flight was eventually deplaned and that police officers asked the 30-year-old to exit the plane.
He left the plane without further incident, according to police. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Beckham Jr. was not detained or cited for the incident.
Video posted on social media showed multiple officers escorting Beckham Jr. from the flight and through the airport.
In their brief statement, American Airlines said the flight eventually departed at 10:54 a.m.
Beckham Jr.’s attorney, Daniel Davillier, released a statement to ABC News about what happened:
Earlier today, 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 seatbelt on when asked. He responded that he was asleep, and that he would put his seatbelt 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 overzealous flight attendant refused to simply allow Mr. Beckham to fasten his seatbelt and proceed with the flight and instead immediately removed everyone from the plane. 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.This incident was completely unnecessary. Sleeping on a plane should not be a cause for removal from a flight. If they could wake him up when the flight returned to the gate, then they could have done the same thing and woken him up to ask him to put on his seatbelt.
In a series of tweets Sunday morning, Beckham Jr. appeared to address the incident on the plane in Miami.
“Never in my life have I experienced what just happened to me… I’ve seen it all…” he tweeted.
“Comedy hr.” he added.
The free agent wide receiver is looking to make his comeback from a torn ACL he suffered during last season’s Super Bowl while on the Los Angeles Rams.
Over the last several weeks, the Dallas Cowboys have been one of the favorites to land Beckham Jr., among other teams such as the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills.
Members of the Cowboys — including owner Jerry Jones, running back Ezekiel Elliott and linebacker Micah Parsons — have expressed their interests in signing Beckham Jr. to help bolster the receiving group as Dallas makes its playoff push.
Beckham Jr. is expected to meet with the Cowboys on Monday, Dec. 5, according to multiple media reports.