New York Giants: Odell Beckham antics hit low point
By Curt Macysyn
Too bad Tom Coughlin no longer coaches the team.
Because the former New York Giants head coach’s reaction to the most recent Odell Beckham antics would be priceless. Unfortunately for us, we will likely get a muted response from current coach Ben McAdoo.
TMZ Sports reported on May 24, 2017 that Beckham blew off the first two days of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) in order to catch passes from Johnny Manziel.
For good measure, Beckham had his personal cleat artist, Kickasso, in tow with him and Johnny Hot Mess.
You can’t make this stuff up.
We know this is valid based upon a posted photo on Kickasso’s and Manziel’s Instagram pages.
Truthfully, these latest events are bizarre and concerning.
Voluntary OTAs?
For championship-driven players, OTAs are not voluntary, regardless of what the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) says. And when you are the most noteworthy player on the New York Giants, your absence will surely be noted.
Beckham knows this.
https://twitter.com/OBJ_3/status/867486046614769664
Yet after the fact, Beckham simply threw gasoline on the fire with a cryptic, but targeted, social media post.
What exactly does #StayTheCourse even mean in this context?
To highlight how this individual should be handled from here forward, I will commence calling Odell Beckham, Jr. by his full name or last name only. On these pages, he’s no longer OBJ or ODB, he’s Beckham. That’s because Beckham handles himself poorly. In order to get respect, one has to give respect. He has no right to expect to be treated differently than anyone else.
Clearly understand that Beckham wasn’t at OTAs, he was catching passes from Johnny freakin’ Manziel. So Beckham either thinks that he’s better than everyone else, or he doesn’t care.
There can be no other explanation.
Must Read: New York Giants Rumors: Odell Beckham AWOL at OTA session
And this latest transgression is the latest in a long line of transgressions for the receiver currently devoid of a championship. You see Beckham isn’t a famous person who happens to play football. Actually, Beckham is a football player who became famous.
Statistically, he is proficient at what he does. No question about it.
Can he get better?
That’s extremely difficult to project at this point because Beckham gets easily distracted. Laser focused players compete for championships. Distracted players flame out as their skill level begins to diminish.
His entire story has yet to be written, but the road map seems to be taking us in a specific direction.
Has Beckham Matured?
"“Odell Beckham Jr. wasn’t in attendance at Giants OTAs on Monday, which had some of the New York media further questioning his maturity,” according to USA Today."
Ironically, this statement appeared in the column “For the Win”.
It could be maturity issue, but then again, why not frame this story about Beckham’s commitment level?
New York Giants
When sports writers cite maturity, it’s actually a benign description. The way the USA Today framed the latest incident embraces plausible deniability. It wasn’t us (USA Today) who questioned his maturity, but rather it was the New York media.
It’s a total cop out.
This column should be forever renamed “For the Tie”. This way the author won’t have to pick a winner or loser. Play everything right down the middle. Put the negative focus on others. After all, I’m just reporting what the New York media said.
Right now, the Beckham issue has reached critical mass and that’s how it should be reported. The veteran receiver will likely come in on Thursday, and glibly deal with the media, as if this is no big deal.
Don’t kid yourself, Beckham knows exactly what he’s doing. He craves attention regardless if it’s positive or negative.
For the first time as a professional, he’s dealing with having to share the spotlight with Olivier Vernon, Eli Manning, Brandon Marshall, Jason Pierre-Paul, Landon Collins, Damon Harrison and Janoris Jenkins. Heck, even Evan Engram and Davis Webb are getting loads of press coverage.
If you look up the term maturity, here’s how it is defined: In psychology, maturity is the ability to respond to the environment in an appropriate manner.
Beckham’s Commitment to New York Giants
So no, I do not question Beckham’s maturity, I’m intelligent enough to know that answer. Let me frame the question differently, and see what your answer is.
Is Beckham appropriately responding to the playoff loss to Green Bay? Clearly, the answer is no.
Is he responding appropriately to concerns about his commitment level after the ill-fated Miami boat trip? Good luck making that argument, although some might try.
Is he appropriately preparing himself to play a team game with a franchise that has championship aspirations? Once again, good luck making that argument, yet some may blindly defend him.
What will likely be on display tomorrow is an agitated player with passive aggressive responses to legitimate questions. For the defenseless, the agitation method appears on page one of the media response manual.
So look for a solid dose of agitation, sprinkled with some media blame tomorrow. Don’t expect an apology, however. Also expect that Beckham will play the teammate game. How his teammates know and respect him.
Unfortunately, some members of the fourth estate will buy into his explanation. But whether or not you’ve play a down of organized football, everyone understands commitment.
And by any definition of the word, Beckham does not have it. That’s the real story here.