Cleveland Reporter: Odell Beckham Jr.'s Stance NFL Shouldn't Play Is Old and Has Changed

The Wall Street Journal published an interview with Odell Beckham Jr. with the headline "Odell Beckham Jr. Doesn't Think The NFL Should Come Back This Season". Of course, that's going to make waves. Here is what he specifically said in the interview in response to a question about his having expressed doubts the NFL wouldn't come back this season:

That’s how I feel. Obviously with everything that’s going on, it doesn’t make sense why we’re trying to do this. 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 eleven-on-eleven 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’ , 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.

But, not so fast. Mary Kay Cabot, a reporter for Cleveland.com who has been covering the Browns for a long time, tweeted the following:

The WSJ story does say that the interview took place before the NFL announced their extensive Covid-19 protocols on July 24th, and Beckham Jr. reported to camp on July 28th. It's weird that they had this type of newsworthy interview with a newsmaker and held it for this long.