Millionaire Athlete Odell Beckham Jr. Says He Is Treated Like a ‘Zoo Animal’

Odell Beckham Jr., a wide receiver for the New York Giants, says he feels like “a zoo animal” these days.

On the latest episode of LeBron James’ HBO show, “The Shop,” Beckham recalled an encounter with a fan during which he was too busy to take a picture.

That fan later bashed him on social media.

“To me, I be feeling like, I tell people this all the time — I really feel like a zoo animal. Like that’s where life’s gone for me. You know, you used to take your kids to the zoo and we used to be like, you know, ‘I want to see the lions, or let’s go see the lions.’ And you go out there, and the lions are laid out. You know what I mean? And it’s like, why aren’t they doing lion stuff, you know what I mean?” said Beckham.

He continued, “Like I’ve got people who call out, ‘Odell! Dance!’ Like, I’m a show punk, a show monkey or something. Like I’m a puppet, you know what I mean? And it’s like to me, that doesn’t feel good, but it’s like, damn, that’s what life became. But can you ever really detach from that?”

Beckham, who is 25, later added that he thinks there is a big difference in how black athletes are treated versus white athletes.

“It still ain’t enough. And that’s for us as African-Americans because I believe if the greatest quarterback in the world, he’s a white quarterback, if it’s Brady, if it’s Rodgers, if it’s Manning — and we’re doing the same s***, the same exact s***, I’m talking about the phone is on. We’re like, ‘Yo, get that f***ing phone out of my face. I’m with my family.’ If we’re out with our family, and we say that s***, and somebody posts it, and if Aaron Rodgers or one of those guys say that s*** and they post it, somebody’s going to be like, ‘Hey, you guys should respect Aaron Rodgers.'”

Odell Beckham, for the record, recently made headlines for signing a five-year $95 million contract, with $65 million guaranteed.

Let’s play a game.

Name the first zoo animal that comes to mind that will make nearly $100 million over the next five years.

(photo credit, homepage and article images: Odell Beckham Jr., CC BY 2.0, Erik Drost)