Former New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. revealed he felt “disrespected” when he was traded in the cover story for the August issue of GQ Magazine.
Beckham was a 2014 first-round pick (14th overall) out of LSU. He was traded to the Cleveland Browns in March.
“My initial reaction was not disappointment…I felt disrespected,” Beckham said in the interview with Mark Anthony Green. “This is me being honest: this team has not been good for the last six years. Period. Even the year we went to the playoffs and everyone was talking about this and that. And we went there and I didn’t have a great playoff game. Don’t get me wrong, I had a terrible game. But I left the game with seven targets, and I’m supposed to be your No. 1 receiver. I left the game with seven targets. We lost. They scored 40 points. It’s just all bad.
“I felt disrespected, because I felt like I was a main reason at keeping that brand alive. They were getting prime-time games, still, as a 5-11 team. Why? Because people want to see the show. You want to see me play. That’s just real rap. I’m not sitting here like, ‘It’s because of me’. But let’s just be real. That’s why we’re still getting prime time games. I felt disrespected they weren’t even man enough to even sit me down to my face and tell me what’s going on.”
Beckham caught 390 passes as a Giant for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns. He ranks second in franchise history in receiving yards and fourth in receiving touchdowns. He was the 2014 Offensive Rookie of the Year and was named to three Pro Bowls. Beckham signed a five-year extension last summer that made him one of the NFL’s highest-paid wideouts.
Beckham’s tenure in the Big Apple was highlighted by memorable on-the-field moments (none bigger than the one-handed catch against the Dallas Cowboys) and questionable behavior both on and off-the-field (pretending to urinate in one of the end zones at Lincoln Financial Field, an ill-advised Miami trip before his first postseason game).
General manager Dave Gettleman repeatedly said the Giants did not sign Beckham to an extension just to trade him. The interview features venom aimed in Gettleman’s direction as well as the direction of head coach Pat Shurmur. Shurmur, for his part, has said the decision to trade Beckham was based on football and not personal feelings.
Beckham may not care too much for the current general manager and head coach but seems to have no such animosity towards co-owner/team president/CEO John Mara.
“I’ll forever have respect for Mr. Mara. Everything he’s ever done for me, he’s shown nothing but love,” Beckham said. “Even when we were having our talks, it was coming from a place of love. I could always feel it. So, I’ll forever have respect for him.”
Beckham also addresses his current happiness, musical tastes, rumors of his sexuality as well as his now-shaved off blonde locks, his one-handed catch, the Giants, and the trade. The August issue of GQ hits newsstands Tuesday. Excerpts from the interview are available on GQ.com.
– Curtis Rawls is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the NFL and the New York Giants. Please like and follow on Facebook and Twitter. Curtis can be followed on Twitter @CuRawls203.
