Tragic Details About Odell Beckham Jr.
Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Odell Beckham Jr. had athleticism in his blood. His father, Odell Beckham Sr., was a football player for Louisiana State University, and his mother, Heather Van Norman, was an Olympic-bound track star, who halted her career when she became pregnant with the future NFL wide receiver. The younger Beckham would follow in his dad's footsteps, becoming a phenom in high school football and then going on to play for his father's alma mater. After his junior year, he entered the NFL draft and was snagged by the New York Giants in the first round.
He quickly made a splash in the game and was named offensive rookie of the year by the Associated Press during his first season with the team. During his four seasons with the Giants, Beckham distinguished himself on the field while also stirring up a steady stream of controversy and scandal. In fact, his career has been characterized by equal parts triumph and tragedy — how many NFL players can boast of winning the Super Bowl while also suffering a potentially career-ending injury in the midst of that glory? For fans, he has long been a polarizing figure, and the future of his career is clouded with uncertainty. At the same time, some tragic aspects of Beckham's life have certainly affected him in the long run.
He was heartbroken by the death of his beloved dog
Followers of Odell Beckham Jr.'s various social media accounts can attest that he's a dog lover. In fact, he has often shared photos of himself and his best friend, his pup Tzar. Tzar came to him in 2014, when he was just a puppy, and Beckham posted an adorable photo on X, formerly known as Twitter, of the first encounter between Tzar and his other dog, Dre.
Even the toughest athletes can be reduced to tears by the loss of a beloved pet, and Beckham was not immune. In 2016, he tweeted a sad photo of him leaning over and hugging Tzar, accompanied by a heartbreaking message. "RIP brother, u will be forever missed Tzar," he wrote. "I kno you're in a better place. Love from the deepest deepest place."
He uploaded a follow-up post just minutes later. "2/14/14 – 5-31-16 You were there when they counted me out," he added. "You were there for the ups and there even more for the downs." Beckham wrote one more to say goodbye. "You'll have a piece of my heart forever," he wrote in his final tweet. "Time waits for no one. I'll make u proud brother. Rest, you're in his hands now."
A man attempted to extort Beckham for $1 million
In 2017, a guy named Ishmael Temple showed up at a party held at the home of Odell Beckham Jr., where he alleged he was brutally beaten by men he claimed to be members of Beckham's security team. He sued Beckham, initially for $15 million. Through his lawyer, Daniel Davillier, Beckham denied he had anything to do with whatever took place and pointed to the fact that there was "no police report, no hospital record," and no evidence that Temple had been injured. "This is clearly a frivolous lawsuit," Davillier told TMZ Sports. "We'll see him in court."
Beckham fired back with a countersuit, alleging that not only was he innocent, but that Temple was attempting to extort him for $1 million (Temple eventually lowered his lawsuit's ask to $225,000 and Davillier offered to settle for $20,000). In his response, Temple made some salacious claims that Beckham's parties were fueled by many illicit drugs, and he even accused the NFL star of offering to pay a woman $1,000 to have sex with him. Beckham once again denied all the allegations Temple hurled at him.
The whole thing ultimately evaporated in 2019 when Temple and his lawyer didn't respond to Beckham's complaint within the window of time that they had been given by the judge in the case. As a result, Beckham was awarded a default judgment, with his accuser and his attorney ordered to pay Beckham $32,725.
His temper has impacted his career
One thing about Odell Beckham Jr. that has come to define his NFL career over the years has been his fiery temper. This was evident in December 2015 while he was playing with the New York Giants and they took on the Carolina Panthers. During the game, his anger bubbled up when he targeted Panthers cornerback Josh Norman. Beckham chased Norman down and attacked him, and he was caught on camera throwing punches and smashing his helmet against Norman's. "He came back and was hunting, and it was just, like, malicious in every way," Norman said after the game, as reported by ESPN. Beckham was subsequently handed a one-game suspension.
But that was far from an isolated incident. In 2018, in an explosion of anger, he famously headbutted a fan – not an actual person, but a giant cooling unit. Then there was his furious outburst after being pulled out of a game in 2020. In 2023, video of Beckham went viral when he smashed his helmet with such fury that he freaked out a female staffer standing nearby.
Beckham is not unaware of his anger issues. According to Brad Wing, Beckham's former teammate on the New York Giants, the athlete recognized he needed to conquer his temper. "He understands, he just has a lot of passion and me and him are both learning how to harness that in a positive direction," Wing told the New York Post in 2017.
His mental health was so strained that he considered retiring
Odell Beckham Jr. was drafted by the New York Giants in 2014 and remained a Giant until his final game for the team in late 2018. Beckham subsequently revealed that his experience with the Giants was one of extreme misery, leaving him depressed and fearing for his mental health throughout his tenure with the team.
He elaborated on his feelings during a 2020 roundtable talk with fellow players Cam Newton, Todd Gurley, and Vic Cruz on his YouTube channel. Beckham explained that he had been telling himself — even back when he was playing college ball at LSU — that he feared one day coming to a point where he was playing football for reasons other than his sheer love of the game. When he felt that happening to him as a Giant, the experience hit him hard, leading to a desire to retire. "I struggled to deal with that," Beckham revealed. "Depression, mental health issues, being in New York, not really liking it."
It turns out that Beckham wasn't alone with his issues with mental health and depression, as that's not at all uncommon in professional athletes. "Top athletes can often appear manic or even depressed after games but this does not necessarily mean they are going off the deep end," sports psychologist Dr. John F. Murray told 24/7 Sports, giving advice to Beckham. "The key is smart performance on the field that allows an athlete to play consistently at his highest level."
His final meal with his Giants teammates was bittersweet
In 2019, Odell Beckham Jr. was traded from the New York Giants to the Cleveland Browns. That trade closed a chapter of his life that was tinged with both triumph on the field and personal darkness, given the depression he experienced during his years with the team. For Beckham, however, the saddest aspect of exiting the Giants was leaving behind the friends he made there, particularly teammates Saquon Barkley and Sterling Shepard.
The player opened up about his mixed feelings during his first press conference with the Browns. "It is just life. It is such a sudden change," Beckham said of the emotions of moving away from his buddies, as reported by CBS Sports. "That is really what is the hardest thing. I saw Saquon and Shep the other night, and we were all like ... It is just different." He went on to recall his final dinner with the two, remembering all they had been through together during his time with the Giants. "It was just a lot, a lot of emotions and a lot of thoughts that run through your mind," he added.
Some felt that Beckham squandered his career
When Odell Beckham Jr. came out of LSU as a first-round draft pick to the New York Giants, he found himself under the harsh glare of the media in America's biggest metropolis. Plus, the high expectations set for him had preceded his entry into the NFL. As his career progressed, sports journalists began griping that Beckham hadn't lived up to his potential and became better known for his fiery temper, flamboyant personality, and off-field antics rather than his achievements with the Giants.
Among those who shared that opinion was the New York Post's Mark Cannizzaro, who wrote a scathing 2021 opinion piece titled, "Odell Beckham has become a sad waste and there's only one way to fix it." In the article, he complained that Beckham had fallen prey to the stardom accompanying his talent as a football player. "Beckham has made himself a case study in how a professional athlete lets success and attention get to his head," he wrote.
Interestingly, Cannizzaro's words echoed those of Giants co-owner John Mara from a few years earlier. "I wish he would create the headlines by his play on the field as opposed to what he says and does off the field," Mara told reporters of Beckham at the NFL Fall League Meeting in 2018. "I think he needs to do a little more playing and a little less talking."
He claimed the Giants traded him to end his career
When Odell Beckham Jr. was traded from the New York Giants to the Cleveland Browns, he felt blindsided. "I never thought I would play for another team besides the Giants," Beckham admitted on the "All Things Covered" podcast in 2020. "I never wanted to win a championship for anybody more than the Giants, bro. It just was such a legendary place. I was very proud to be a part of that organization." According to Beckham, it all went south when new coaching staff entered the picture. "That was when it all went haywire," he alleged, claiming that things turned sour when coaches began advising younger players on the team to stay away from him, essentially turning his teammates against him. "I felt betrayed."
Beckham was even more pointed when he appeared on the "Punch Line Podcast," asserting there were far better teams than the Browns — he gave the examples of the New England Patriots or the San Francisco 49ers — that the Giants could have traded him to; the trade, he confessed, felt like retribution. "There's semi a bit of me that felt like the Giants sent me off, I've said it before, sent me off to Cleveland to die," Beckham complained on the January 2024 episode. "You can't tell me that, 'This was the best trade package we could've got for you.' No, your desire was to kind of f*** me over a little bit, is how I feel."
Beckham tore his ACL during the Super Bowl
For any athlete who makes it into the NFL, the ultimate dream is to one day make it to the Super Bowl. In 2021, Odell Beckham Jr. was released from the Cleveland Browns and joined the Los Angeles Rams. During his first season with the Rams, he and the team made it to the big game; something he hadn't been able to achieve during his years with the New York Giants. He entered the 2022 edition of the Super Bowl — in which the Rams faced off against the Cincinnati Bengals — as if shot out of a cannon, scoring the first touchdown of the game.
As the game continued, Beckham appeared to be on track to be named Super Bowl MVP, but then tragedy struck. Toward the end of the second quarter, quarterback Matthew Stafford fired a pass to Beckham, who initially caught it, but then immediately crumbled to the ground. After a medical examination, it was determined that Beckham had torn his ACL, which was the second time he had suffered the exact same injury on the same leg in less than 18 months. While the Rams managed to win the game without him, giving him the Super Bowl ring he had craved for his entire life, his future in the NFL had become one big question mark.
He dealt with depression after his Super Bowl injury
Injuring his ACL during the 2022 Super Bowl took Odell Beckham Jr. out of commission for more than a year, forcing him to sit out the entire season while he recovered. If there was a silver lining, it was the arrival of Zydn, his son with partner Lauren Woods, who was born days after his injury. That August, he took to Instagram, posting a lengthy message to reveal that not only was he recovering from that injury, he had also been dealing with depression over where it had left him.
"I can't lie to y'all n tell u that gettin' here was easy," he wrote. "After the bowl, havin' Zydn, battling depression, and being at such highs n lows at the same point in time put me in a really bad spot." However, Beckham also realized that he faced a clear choice: he could either remain in that state or do everything he could to lift himself out of it. "As an athlete, I hate seeing things about 'mental illness,' not to say it's not real, but deep down inside, I believe the mind can overpower it all," he added.
In 2023, he parted ways with the Los Angeles Rams, signing a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens. "It's been a long time having to sit out and watch other people and not get to play," Beckham said of finally returning to the field, via the Ravens website.
Drug rumors spread when he was ejected from a flight
In November 2022, Odell Beckham Jr. boarded a flight from Miami to Los Angeles and immediately fell asleep. As the plane pulled away from the gate, flight attendants were unable to rouse him so they could instruct him to put on his seatbelt. Unsure if he was ill or intoxicated, the crew notified the captain, who returned the plane to the gate.
Airport authorities were called to remove Beckham, with bodycam footage subsequently being released. Officers were eventually able to wake him up, but police told Business Insider that Beckham "appeared to be coming in and out of consciousness" as they spoke with him. Beckham finally awakened and argued with police as the other passengers were made to exit the aircraft. It was then that he began arguing with a passenger who chastised him for delaying the flight. Beckham wasn't having it. "You're everything wrong with the world," Beckham said, then added, "You gon' wait 40 minutes, and I'm going to be on a private plane home. Yeah, with your fat a** ... Enjoy the cheese board on the way home with your ugly a**." Beckham was eventually escorted off the plane.
After the incident made headlines, rumors that drugs were the cause of his unresponsiveness emerged, which Beckham attempted to shut down. "Like damn I'm sorrry I hate to be woken up out my sleep," he tweeted. "And again THERES NO FKN DRUGS."
His relationship with Lauren Woods crashed and burned
Model Lauren Wood took her relationship with Odell Beckham Jr. public in November 2019, posting several photos on Instagram for his birthday. In November 2021, the pair announced that they were expecting their first child, with son, Zydn, arriving the following February. That July, the couple attended the ESPY Awards, accompanied by their infant son outfitted in an adorable little tuxedo.
As they continued to post sweet social media messages gushing over each other, all was apparently not well. At some point in early 2023, the two broke up after several years together as a couple. While neither Wood nor Beckham has spoken out publicly about the split, there's no denying the sadness of a long-term relationship ending, particularly when there's a child involved.
That said, some media reports indicate that Beckham may have moved on. In September 2023, a source told Page Six that Beckham had been spending time with Kim Kardashian. According to the source, the football player and the reality TV star "have been hanging out casually" in the wake of the breakup. However, a subsequent report from InTouch claimed there was nothing casual about Beckham's relationship with Kardashian. "They're dating and Odell even went to Kim's in Calabasas to meet the whole family during one of [Khloé Kardashian's kid's] birthday parties a few weeks ago," the source claimed.
Beckham and his fans feared that his career was over
Beyond the devastating injury that left him sidelined, Odell Beckham Jr. also looked at Super Bowl LVI as a lost opportunity that may never come around again. "It sucks," he told the Baltimore Sun, explaining that he was mentally and physically ready for the biggest game of his career. "I could feel it that day when I woke up," Beckham said. "I knew that I was probably going to be the best person on the field that day."
In the fall of 2023, Beckham returned to the field after more than a year of recovering from his injury. His comeback was somewhat shaky, sitting out two full games after injuring his ankle, and making just seven catches (and zero touchdowns) in the first five weeks of the season. Injury or not, Beckham was determined to improve. "I've just got to come out and be better, plain and simple," he said, via the Ravens website, adding that he was continuing to work on his mental health. "It starts with my energy day to day," he explained. While he may have overcome depression by his self-proclaimed willpower, his injury was something else altogether. "Just to have a small, small setback that you never saw coming, it's just unfortunate," he mused.
Beckham's weak start with the Ravens certainly didn't go unnoticed, and fans began predicting his career was, if not officially over, then well on its way to ending. "It's time to get that podcast equipment," tweeted one fan.
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.