It isn’t always easy being the center of attention in a NFL game. After one of the worst games in his career managing to rack up only 23 receiving yards from three catches, Odell Beckham Jr spoke to reporters about his frustrations with being singled out by referees.
“It’s just my fault. It’s all I look at it as, it’s my fault. Whatever you want to call it, I just have to understand, if I sneeze the wrong way, it’ll be a flag, it’ll be a fine. If I tie my shoe the wrong way, it might be a fine or a flag,” the wide receiver said.
Beckham Jr. has already been fined six times within the last two seasons, and recently earned himself a $36,000 fine for an illegal block on New Orleans Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro.
The NFL implemented a new rule, which consists of either taunting a player, punching, kicking or hitting an opposing player and any abusive or threatening language. The new rule was conjured up after Beckham’s confrontation with Washington Redskin Josh Norman last season, and officially went into effect during the Giants’ last game against the Redskins when Weston Richburg was ejected for two consecutive unsportsmanlike conduct calls against him.
Eli Manning chimed in and said the 23-year-old needs to have more control to get the refs off his back.“They’re looking for him and he has to play smart. They’re going to call him and he brought that on himself.”
Despite the adversity surrounding him this season, Odell seems focused on keeping his positive momentum. “When you’re at the top of your game, they’re gonna try and knock you off. What are you going to do? You gonna back down or are you gonna stand up? And I’ve never been one to back down. So I’m gonna stand up, we’re gonna work to get better.”