Odell Beckham Jr. Exposes Colin Cowherd Text Messages While Railing Against Him
Anyone who’s ever gone fishing knows that the best way to hook an adversary is to dangle an irresistible bit of bait right in front of their face.
And by that metric, Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd just won the sports media equivalent of the Bassmaster Classic when he hooked Cleveland Browns wideout Odell Beckham Jr.
Cowherd laid the groundwork with a six-minute segment this week in which he piled on to the media storm that resulted from Beckham’s no-show at Browns offseason training activities on Wednesday.
Top 10 moments of Odell Beckham Jr.’s career according to @ColinCowherd pic.twitter.com/O3len4ppzk
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) May 16, 2019
This got Beckham’s attention, and he aggressively took umbrage at the Cowherdly behavior he saw the host engaging in at his expense.
NOWWWW UVE GONE TOOOO FAR…. bro I understand nobody listens to ur show but stop using my name to get clout bro, I let u say and do whatever u want but uve gone to far now. So heres the attention U wanted and desperately needed i see. I had respect for u after talkin on the ph. https://t.co/410xdI8ua6
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) May 16, 2019
Beckham’s Thursday Twitter rant was particularity damaging to Cowherd when he coupled it with what kids today call “the receipts,” as Beckham demonstrated that media members are often cozy with athletes when they’re trying to get access but snakes when they’re trying to get ratings.
This is the shxt I be talkin bout wit the bold tv people who see u in person and have completely different convos ??. Alllll of those moments got better ratings and attention than any of ur shows ever. And that’s not somethin im braggin about cause im not “proud” of those. https://t.co/410xdI8ua6 pic.twitter.com/2atNjBZOTI
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) May 16, 2019
Cowherd seemed perfectly willing to text Beckham, saying “Kick a–, I’m rooting for you,” but then ripped the receiver for missing a spring practice.
But to use another phrase popular with the younger crowd, Beckham “dunked on himself” when he outright admitted that he’d risen to Cowherd’s bait and given the host all the free publicity he could possibly have hoped for when antagonizing a famous athlete.
But I honestly I really hate to even give u this spotlight. Just put some respect on my name as ur talkin bout me and my family to booost ur TV shows and ratings. If I was GREAT then u and others wouldn’t talk about me this much. I DONT hear much talk bout anybody else at All. https://t.co/410xdI8ua6
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) May 16, 2019
And even better for Cowherd? He seems to have caught two fish on one hook, as Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield jumped to defend his teammate and signal-boosted Cowherd’s dumb stunt of a segment.
Once again, you’re a clown…. now I know you’re just trying to get me fired up. “Most memorable moments”… he’s 26 and his greatest moments are ahead of him. You forget the kids and people he inspires. That goes much further than football…
— Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) May 16, 2019
“Now I know you’re just trying to get me fired up,” Mayfield admitted.
Well, mission accomplished! Cowherd now has two high-profile NFL stars shoveling that show that “nobody listens to” all over Twitter.
The advertising department at Fox Sports must be salivating at buying reach for $0.00 per 1,000 impressions!
When Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina reported on this whole mess Friday, he did point out one bit of comic irony in it all.
At the end of the day, the biggest sucker of all might just be the sports media that gets to report on this story.
“Now every website and dopey writer like me is covering this whole thing. If Beckham and Mayfield ignored this nonsense, nobody writes about,” Traina wrote.
“They get in a ‘feud’ with a TV personality, everybody writes about it because people will click on these stories. It’s as simple as 1+1=2.”
Umm, Jim? Writer gotta eat. If Cowherd and a couple of Cleveland Browns want to buy me lunch, it beats going hungry. They’re going fishing, we’re just eating the fish and chips.
Of course, Cowherd got the last laugh.
Just woke up from a wonderful nap and two of my favorite guys @bakermayfield and @obj are throwing ? at me. Telling me nobody likes me and stuff. Hurtful. Especially after all the love I gave both. Sometimes it’s hard being the most beloved media icon in America. Whatevs. ?
— Colin Cowherd (@ColinCowherd) May 16, 2019
September needs to hurry up and get here so NFL writers can start writing about actual games again.
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