There are lots of things to like about traveling on an airplane, for example, how quickly you get from point A to point B compared to other forms of travel, but there are also lots of negatives when it comes to airplane travel. We always worry about losing our luggage or encountering a disruptive passenger on our flight. Usually, everything is fine, but once in awhile, it is not.

Passengers aboard American Airlines flight 1228 from Miami to Los Angeles encountered a “situation” earlier today. It was a full flight. All of the passengers were on board the plane. The plane was about to taxi down the runway. Then, due to a “situation,” the passengers had to wait an extra two hours before their flight finally took off.

The delay was not due to any sort of mechanical issue or weather issue. Instead, the delay was due to a passenger, who, according to a flight attendant, refused to buckle his seatbelt and possibly seemed sick.

American Airlines released a statement about the incident explaining, “American Airlines flight 1228, with service from Miami (MIA) to Los Angeles (LAX), returned to the gate before takeoff due to a customer failing to follow crew member instruction and refusing to fasten their seatbelt. The customer was removed and the flight redeparted at 10:54a.m. local time.”

Who was this customer? It was NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. According to Beckham’s attorney, Daniel Davillier, “At no time was Mr. Beckham disruptive or combative.” Davillier added, “He was willing to comply with the seatbelt requirement, but the flight attendant wanted to prove that he had the authority to have Mr. Beckham removed from the flight.”

According to another American Airlines statement, “At approximately 9:30a.m., officers from the Miami-Dade Police Department, were dispatched to a medical emergency at an American Airlines flight. The flight crew was concerned for a passenger (Mr. Odell Beckham), as they tried to wake him to fasten his seat belt, he appeared to be coming in and out of consciousness, prior to their departure. Fearing that Mr. Beckham was seriously ill, and that his condition would worsen through the expected 5 hour flight, the attendants called for police and fire rescue. Upon the officers arrival, the flight crew asked Mr. Beckham several times to exit the aircraft, which he refused. The aircraft was deplaned, at which time Mr. Beckham was asked by the officers to exit the plane, and did so without incident. Mr. Beckham was escorted to the non-secure area of the terminal by the officers where he made other arrangements.”

According to Davillier, Beckham has simply been sleeping and was not sick. He described the whole incident as being caused by an “overzealous flight attendant.”

Do you think the flight attendant really thought Beckham was sick and needed to be removed from the flight?