OBJ , IT’S NOT ABOUT Y.O.U.
Odell chooses bad time to compare self to Brady
The world has crumbled around the Giants. Eli Manning got benched. Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese got fired. And yet all Odell Beckham Jr. wants to talk about is his favorite topic: Himself. Beckham hasn’t weighed in once on Manning, McAdoo or Reese, even though Manning threw Beckham all of the passes he caught to become a young NFL star; McAdoo enabled Beckham to do what he pleased on and off the field; and Reese drafted Beckham 12th overall in 2014 to give him the stage of New York City.
Beckham did, however, have time to post an Instagram video on Wednesday comparing his passion for the game to Tom Brady’s, claiming a double standard in media’s treatment of the two players for the same actions. It continued a conversation he had joined on Twitter early Monday, only hours before his coach and GM were fired.
Beckham responded on Twitter to @Sean_Lyric’s comment about Brady’s recent eruption in the face of Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels on New England’s sideline last Sunday.
“It’s ‘passion bro. Imagine if @ OBJ_3 showed some of this ‘passion’ towards any of his coaches… Smh #Dou- bleStandard,” the user wrote.
Beckham said: “Listen when I say this is the craziest thing someone ever has tweeted or posted to me because I LITERALLY had this same conversation today about the EXACT thing ur ta(l)kin about it (sic). ‘There’s rules..and then there’s rules..”
“Or ….immaturity, or ‘needs to grow up’ or ‘selfish’ or… umm what else is it exactly that ‘they’ say….,” Beckham continued in his next tweet. “Or ‘uncomposed’ (sic) no bro, I’ve watched that man do that exact same thing for years. Beat every time I cheered for in the super bowls…”
Then on Wednesday Beckham had the audacity to post his Instagram video with clips of Brady erupting on the sidelines and Beckham demonstrating the same behavior.
It was Beckham’s way of saying he is only emulating one of the greats, and that he feels it’s unfair he’s called immature for the same behavior that people chalk up as refreshing passion on Brady’s part.
The disparity in public perception of athletes’ sideline outbursts is a worthwhile issue to debate. But clearly, Beckham is bored. He is not the story and he hasn’t been for some time, and here he comes manufacturing a controversy to get back in the conversation. He must miss being on the tabloid back pages. Of course, Beckham comparing himself to Brady is ridiculous for a thousand reasons.
Brady has won five Super Bowls, is either arguably or definitely the best quarterback of all time, and has been in the league since 2000, when Beckham turned eight years old.
Beckham hasn’t won a playoff game, and in his one playoff appearance, he dropped two passes including a touchdown and lost by 25 points. He preceded that game with an all-night party in Miami clubs and on a boat six days prior, and punched a hole in Lambeau Field’s wall after the defeat.
The most recent lasting image of Brady is of the Patriots quarterback holding up the Lombardi Trophy last February. The most recent lasting image of Beckham is of the Giants receiver lifting his leg and pretending to pee like a dog in the Philadelphia end zone on Sept. 24.
There is nothing similar about Brady and Beckham other than the fact that both of their last names begin with ‘B.’ Beckham is a great player but he has accomplished nothing and he is on his third coach now in four years.
But what should be discussed here is not Beckham’s comparison of himself to Brady. We all know it’s not valid, and we all know that the context and extent of Beckham’s transgressions are different than Brady’s. And we all know that Brady has won five championships and that Beckham still has to prove he can win one.
Still, no. The story here isn’t Beckham vs. Brady. The story is that Beckham wants to talk about himself at a time when the story is about anything but him: organizational dysfunction, a coach and GM losing their jobs, Beckham’s own quarterback being benched. And no comment from Beckham on any of those topics. Just himself.
Beckham was in the locker room Wednesday but declined to speak to most of the media, selecting a few of his favorites for side-conversations, and said he’d speak to everyone at the end of the season.
Now Beckham, as co-owner John Mara reminded Monday on the radio, is a good person with good intentions.
Beckham’s cleats for the NFL’s ‘My Cause My Cleats’ campaign, which he posted on Instagram, are lime green with the words TEAM JAYRO, in honor of the late Jayro Ponce, a cancer patient whom Beckham visited in Amarillo, Texas, in the summer, who passed away at 9 years old.
Beckham also posted a game photo of himself and Ryan Shazier and sent prayers to the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker who suffered a frightening spinal injury in Monday night’s game in Cincinnati.
On the Giants, though, Beckham for some reason S thinks the conversation should be about him. orry, Odell. Everyone wants you to get healthy for next season. It was great to see you out of a boot and working in sneakers in the weight room on Wednesday. It’s a privilege to watch you play. But this isn’t the time to puff out your chest. People just lost their jobs. Your time will come again.