MIAMI –
NFL free agent, Odell Beckham Jr. was removed from a plane by police before takeoff at Miami International Airport after officials said he failed to meet seat belt requirements and appeared to be unconscious, police and airline officials said. did not say on Sunday.
“Fearing that Mr Beckham was gravely ill and his condition would worsen during the flight scheduled to last 5 hours, (crew members) called the police and fire brigade, ” Miami police Dade Luis Sierra said in a statement after 9:30 a.m. Sunday the incident occurred.
“When they tried to wake (Beckham) to fasten his seat belt, he appeared to be constantly awake and unconscious,” the statement said.
American Airlines representative Alfredo Garduno confirmed that Flight 1228 to Los Angeles turned back to the gate before takeoff “due to a customer who failed to follow the instructions of crew members and refused to fasten his seat belt.” .
Carlos Gauna, a business class passenger, said he recognized Beckham before boarding the plane and then used the camera on his mobile phone to record him walking through the airport terminal with police . He said Beckham was in first class.
“He just walked away quietly. The police escorted him out,” Gauna said, adding that the flight was full and that he heard “grunts” from other passengers.
Gauna, a filmmaker, is returning home to Camarillo, California, near Los Angeles, after more than two weeks of filming sharks in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil.
He said the plane was about to take off when the captain informed him that there was “a passenger” who needed to return to the terminal. Gauna said an ambulance arrived and paramedics boarded the plane and spoke to Beckham before police took him away.
Other passengers boarded the plane back and the flight departed later for Los Angeles, where Gauna spoke to The Associated Press
One Twitter posts allegedly because Beckham appeared to refer to the incident, saying, “Never in my life have I experienced what just happened to me” and adding in a misspelling that he had “seen it all.”
Police said Beckham “was escorted by officers to an unsafe area of the station, where he made other arrangements.”
Sierra did not immediately respond to questions about whether Beckham had been arrested or criminally charged.
Beckham, 30, a three-time Pro Bowl champion, has been a free agent since helping the Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl last February. He caught a touchdown pass before rupturing his knee ligament in the 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Beckham has been reported to be nearing a return to the league and the Dallas Cowboys have said they want to sign him.
Several other teams are expected to go after Beckham, who has been at the center of controversy during previous stops with the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns.
