Odell Beckham Jr. lost his cool again during the New York Giants’ 24-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, where he had a career-low 23 receiving yards. Beckham was exchanging verbal barbs with Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes for several plays when Rhodes hit Beckham out of bounds after a 4-yard catch. The referees did not penalize Rhodes for the late hit, but Beckham was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when he charged and bumped Rhodes. Beckham said he has to do a better job of understanding that he’s one of the most targeted players in the NFL.
“It’s just my fault,” said Beckham.
“I just have to understand if I sneeze the wrong way, it will be a flag,” he said. “It will be a fine. If I tie my shoes the wrong way, it might be a fine or a flag. It is what it is. You have to understand that. As tough as it is to understand that for a 23-year-old who has been blessed with a lot that God has given to me — an amazing amount of ability and amazing amount of everything — it seems like it’s all working against you.
“But what are you going to do? You gonna back down, or you gonna stand up? I’ve never been one to back down. I’m going to stand up. We’re going to work to get better.”
But he’ll be able to control his emotions, he suggested, when he understands that “it’s all against you.”
“You have to know that,” Beckham said. “You have to understand it. It’s never going to deter me from what I want to do. It’s never going to deter us from the goals that we have set, my goals that I have set. It’s not going to stop me. It’s just going to make me have to work harder, smarter and just understand that it’s all against you. It is what it is. Whatever you want to call it, it’s against you. And you have to live with that.”
source: ESPN
