Odell Beckham: 'I wasn't raised to act like I did the other day'

By Ross Jones
Published

Shortly after New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham's one-game suspension was upheld on Wednesday, he delivered a strong message apologizing for his conduct in Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers. 

Beckham offered up a statement that was delivered by the team:

I owe some people an apology. I wasn't raised to act like I did the other day. I am not here to make excuses for my conduct. This isn't about anything that was said or done to me. This is about my behavior, and I am responsible for my behavior. People expect better from me, and I expect better from myself.

First of all, I apologize to the organization I represent, the Giants, and our ownership, John Mara and his family and Steve Tisch and his family. And Jerry Reese, who drafted me and gave me the opportunity to be a part of this organization.

I want to apologize to Giants fans. They want to be proud of us, and proud of players like me who represent their team. What happened the other day was embarrassing to them and embarrassing to me.

A lot of kids look up to me as a role model. That is a responsibility I accept and take seriously. Many of the parents of those kids have asked since Sunday what they should say to their children about my conduct. I don't have the perfect answer, but I think one thing they can say is how I handled myself the other day is an example of how not to conduct yourself. I displayed poor sportsmanship.  And those parents can also say that when you act like that, there are consequences. And I hope to be an example of somebody who did something wrong and learned from it.

I owe Coach Coughlin, our coaches and my teammates an apology. They have had to answer for my actions, and that's not fair to them. How I conduct myself is my responsibility. I let my coaches and teammates down.

I am blessed and privileged to play the game I love, and I will do all I can to carry myself in a way that honors the game, the NFL, my team, my coaches, all my fans and my family moving forward.