Odell Beckham Jr. likens being a black athlete to a zoo animal on ‘The Shop’

NFL: New York Giants at Detroit Lions

Giants receive Odell Beckham Jr. has plenty of reasons to be happy — 95 million, to be exact.

Beckham officially signed a five-year, $95 million contract to remain with the team on Tuesday, and the talk of holding out can now cease, as the Giants star playmaker got his money.

And even though he hasn’t played during the preseason thus far, he’s still been getting some TV time. OBJ appeared on the first episode of HBO’s “The Shop,” which aired on Tuesday night, and he did not hold back. Here’s what he had to say.

“I really feel like a zoo animal,” he said. “Like that’s where life has 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?’ Like, I’ve got people who call out, ‘Odell! Dance!’ Like, I’m a show punk, a show monkey or something.”

Those are powerful words from one of the league’s most dynamic receivers, but we do understand where he’s coming from. There are still racial undertones from fans toward African American players, and we can’t wait for the day when it finally stops.

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