Alright. Odell Beckham Jr. did not get the memo regarding the lack of an “I” in the word team. Not only did he disregard a growing feeling that he may be distracting from the Ny Giants' team effort, he took that feeling to a new level. In the process he infuriated John Mara the fairly conservative owner of the Giants.
Fourth quarter comeback and 2 touchdowns for OBJ
After scoring one of his two touchdowns in the fourth quarter loss vs. the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Odell decided that the appropriate celebration in Philadelphia was to act out a skit of him as a dog urinating, as male dogs do, by lifting his leg.
The immediate perception was that of disgust and being out of the bounds of good taste. Unfortunately for the NY Giants, who were trying not to lose their third in a row, the referee felt the same way. The Giants were penalized 15 yards on the ensuing kick-off. They had to execute that kick from their own 20-yard line. New York eventually lost the game by a matter of inches, when a rookie kicker for the Eagles squeezed a 61-yard field goal just inside the right goal post with 00:01 on the clock.
Odell Beckham Jr. was not apologetic about the celebration, or the way it hurt the team’s field position in a game that ultimately came down to inches. In fact, he referred to the incident by only calling attention to an idea that the team needed someone to make a play, and well frankly, he made a play.
OBJ: "read between the lines"
While OBJ offered some vague reference to Donald Trump’s likening of the protests by NFL players to dogs, as his justification. I assure you, the network TV audience did not pick-up the nuance in what was an overtly grotesque gesture in the end zone in Philadelphia this past Sunday. Fines will be issued by the NFL.
OBJ will be spoken to by Giants owner, John Mara. One can only hope that coach McAdoo will take him aside as well. However, my greatest wish is that some of his teammates will hold him accountable.
Team play, it is safe to say, is always important in team sports. Our society and media, however, have taken individual adulation and hero worship to it's apex.
This is occurring at such a level that it is almost impossible for the up and coming superstars, even in team sports, to remain humble, grateful and respectful to their sport, teammates, coaches, and opponents. In the trash talking, chest pounding, self-aggrandizing times we live in, the next multi-million dollar contract is all too often the goal of our really good NFL players.
Self-aggrandizement leads to team dischord
Nothing fractures a proud team that is off to a slow 0-3 start more than a prima-donna, self-promoting teammate. Odell Beckham Jr. will find this out soon, or he will become the highest paid wide receiver, not playing for the NY Giants. Mark my words.