Giants co-owner John Mara 'tired of answering questions' about Odell Beckham Jr.
Odell Beckham Jr. attends the 2018 NBA All-Star Game at Staples Center in February. Credit: Getty Images / Kevork Djansezian
ORLANDO, Fla. — Odell Beckham Jr.’s behavior is wearing on John Mara.
The Giants’ co-owner spoke publicly for the first time Sunday about the latest couple of offseason conflagrations involving the star wide receiver, including a brief video on social media that showed him with a French model and what appeared to be illegal drugs.
“I’m tired of answering questions about Odell’s behavior,” Mara said in his first public comments about Beckham since the video surfaced a few weeks ago. “He knows what is expected of him and now it’s up to him.”
Is it fair to say those expectations were not met in the video?
“It wasn’t helpful,” Mara said.
The biggest questions: Is Beckham worth the monster contract he figures to land at some point — either from the Giants or someone else — after his rookie deal expires at the end of the upcoming season? Is he worth the headaches he causes ownership?
“I’m not going to talk about his contract,” Mara said. “Contracts get done when they’re supposed to get done. We’ll just have to see what happens.”
That sounds like a departure from Mara’s stance at the start of last year’s training camp, when he spoke about a desire to make Beckham a Giant for life.
“Not necessarily,” Mara said.
Mara further fueled the fuzziness of Beckham’s future when he said that no one on the team — not even Beckham, the Giants’ most talented player — is exempt from a possible trade. This just a few days after the Giants sent Jason Pierre-Paul to the Bucs.
“I mean we’re certainly not shopping him, if that’s what you’re asking,” Mara said of Beckham. “But when you’re coming off a season where you’re 3-13 and played as poorly as we played, I wouldn’t say anyone’s untouchable.”
General manager Dave Gettleman said at the NFL Combine that all of Beckham’s past antics — from pretending to urinate like a dog in celebration of a touchdown to his suspension for launching himself at cornerback Josh Norman — are in the past. He said Beckham would be given “a clean slate.”
A month later, that slate already is getting marked up again.
Mara, attending the NFL’s annual meetings, has not spoken with Beckham since the video surfaced, but he said Pat Shurmur has. The Giants’ new coach met with Beckham in California this past week while he was scouting quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen. “I think the two of them sat down,” Mara said.
Shurmur, also at the league meetings, said he and Beckham met but never spoke about the video. It may be hard to believe that the subject never came up, either directly or in an obtuse way. Then again, Shurmur added: “I wouldn’t ever tell you about the specifics, but we did not talk any football.’’
That conversation likely predated the report Friday that Beckham is being sued for $15 million for his alleged role in an assault claim. Mara said he is not as concerned about that situation and will not add it to the already significant pile of Beckham issues. “I don’t think it’s fair to do that,” Mara said.
Beckham’s attorneys have said the suit is frivolous and an attempt at a shakedown.
Whether or not the conversation with Shurmur, or what soon will be a conversation with Mara, results in any change in Beckham’s behaviors is yet to be determined. It will, however, likely play a large role in how much longer he remains with the Giants.
As of Sunday, that future was murky at best. Asked directly if Beckham will be a member of the 2018 Giants, Mara said: “I can’t answer that one way or the other.”
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
