January 1, Police Remove NFL Player from Flight

NFL free agent Odell Beckham Jr. was removed from an American Airlines flight after he “refused to comply with safety protocol,” police said.

The Miami-Dade Police Department’s Det. Argemis “AC” Colome said the wide receiver was escorted from the plane at approximately 9:30 a.m., after the flight crew had declared a medical emergency.

“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,” Colome said.

“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,” he continued.

According to Colome, at that point, the aircraft was deplaned, “at which time Mr. Beckham was asked by the officers to exit the plane, and did so without incident.”

Officers escorted the 30-year-old to a non-secure area of the terminal “where he made other arrangements,” police said.

Beckham’s lawyer told ESPN that his client had been asleep and the incident was caused by an “overzealous flight attendant.”

“At no time was Mr. Beckham disruptive or combative,” said Daniel Davillier, an attorney for Beckham. “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 athlete addressed the situation in a series of tweets, calling the incident “comedy hour.”

Fellow passengers didn’t seem to share in Beckham’s amusement, which delayed their Los Angeles-bound flight.

“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,” one passenger wrote on Twitter.

Source: Yahoo