Beckham: NFL season 'shouldn't happen'
Cleveland Browns star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. doesn't think the 2020 NFL season should go ahead amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beckham said team owners are only focused on the league's finances and don't see players as "human."
"Obviously with everything that's going on, it doesn't make sense why we're trying to do this," Beckham told The Wall Street Journal's Lane Florsheim. "I can understand basketball was already in the playoffs. Five-on-five basketball in an arena is going to be more intense than regular-season games. Hooping is different than playing an 11-on-11 contact sport where there's 80 people in a locker room. We're not ready for football season.
"So why are we trying to push forward? It's obviously for their money. And that bothers me because there's always been this - and I hate saying it like that - but the owners' (attitude is), 'Oh we own you guys,' and just kind of that unfairness going on that they don't see us as human. I just feel like the season shouldn't happen and I'm prepared for it to not happen and I wouldn't mind not having it."
Beckham doesn't plan to opt out of the season, sources told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.
Cabot added that Beckham's interview with the WSJ took place two weeks ago, and the receiver "has developed more of a comfort level for playing" after being inside Cleveland's facility and experiencing the health protocols.
The NFL and the NFLPA recently signed off on changes to the collective bargaining agreement, allowing the campaign to go ahead.
But players publically criticized the league's approach to the pandemic in a coordinated social media campaign prior to the deal's completion, saying they wanted to play, but not without acceptable health and safety standards. Marquee players such as Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, and J.J. Watt joined the effort.
While the two parties managed to come to terms, the deal was finalized just as training camps were scheduled to begin.
Though players are able to opt out of the season, the NFL is expected to push the deadline forward to as early as Thursday or Friday, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano.
Beckham is coming off a disappointing first campaign with the Browns. Cleveland was widely viewed as a challenger for the AFC North title last season, but it finished in third place with a 6-10 record.
The receiver went past the 1,000-yard mark for the fifth time, but he produced career lows with 64.7 yards per game and four touchdown catches (minimum 10 games).