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Odell Beckham has rejected claims that he was a bad influence in the Giants' locker room. SIPA USA/PA Images
coming out swinging

'I'm cancer to a place that's ok with losing' - Odell Beckham sheds further light on Giants exit

Beckham took aim at Giants GM Dave Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur in a Twitter spree on Monday.

ODELL BECKHAM JR elaborated on the dissolution of his relationship with the New York Giants on Monday, replying to fans — and ‘haters’ — on Twitter to give his version of the story of his trade to the Cleveland Browns, or at least some of it.

Beckham took exception to one fan’s suggestion that he had become a cancer in the Giants locker room, also expressing his discontent with both Giants head coach Pat Shurmur and general manager Dave Gettleman for their handling of his final season and his trade respectively.

He also ruled out a return to the Giants in future.

The star wide receiver initially responded to a headline by HotNewHipHop — based on an interview with NJ.com — that suggested Gettleman put Beckham’s trade down to a “culture problem” at the Giants.

“I think some people are still missing it,” Gettleman said. “Football is the ultimate team game. If all 11 guys aren’t doing the right thing, you’re not going to be successful. There’s more to it than just collecting talent. There is a cultural thing to it that’s critical. I have not been on a team that’s gone to a Super Bowl that’s had a culture problem.”

When asked if the Giants had a culture problem, Gettleman stated, “Not anymore.”

Beckham seemed to take Gettleman’s comments as a swipe at him personally, and opened the floor to Twitter to both defend himself and give further detail as to why he felt the G-Men’s GM was wrong in his assessment.

When one fan called him a “locker room cancer”, the 26-year-old replied: “Ask any one of my teammates of who I was as a teammates [sic] and a man and a person…. yes I’m cancer to a place that’s ok wit [sic] losing because I want to win that BADDD. Ur absolutely correct !”

He also claimed that he wanted to travel with the Giants for the final four games of the season, which he missed with a quad injury, only for head coach Pat Shurmur to tell him, “‘No””.

He also made reference to Gettleman’s regular remarks that the Giants hadn’t signed Beckham to a bumper contract in 2018 just to trade him. Ultimately, they traded him just seven months after signing him to a record-breaking contract.

“‘We didn’t sign him to trade him…’” Beckham told one disgruntled fan, quoting his former GM. “You don’t get married to get a divorce … I tried my best , the situation I had been in since I got there never changed … we were still losing. PERIOD… money doesn’t bring happiness brotha… remember that.”

Another bone of contention for Beckham was how the Giants dealt with his trade, after which they released a statement thanking him for his contribution to the franchise.

He stressed that he was not disappointed to have landed in Cleveland, but felt let down by the lack of a proper send-off from the Giants — a move which he felt was “beyond disrespectful” considering what he had given to Big Blue since being drafted in 2014.

He also advised Shurmur, Gettleman and company to keep his name out of their mouths as he does theirs, claiming he himself is still withholding a lot of information to which the public are not privy.

He also ruled out a return to New York in future but thanked the city for being the first to allow him to follow his dreams.

When one fan brought up the 2016 playoff defeat to the Green Bay Packers — one of Beckham’s worst performances in Giants blue and one which followed a controversial boat trip in Miami with his fellow G-Men receivers — the three-time Pro Bowl wide-out initially replied, “7 targets”, implying he hadn’t been thrown enough ball to influence the game.

He then elaborated, however, saying: “And we lost but [by] 20 points…. halftime Hail Mary.. packs on the road. There no victim role , I had a terrible game . Wit not many opportunities to do anything as well. I’m a man. I don’t neeed to hide.”

Asked what he’s most looking forward to in Cleveland, Beckham said a combination of a fresh start, playing again with his former college team-mate Jarvis Landry, and a media that won’t look for a story of his blowing his nose wrong.

He also stressed that “Cleveland is my home now. Trust me I’m comin wit a bag fulll of energy, I want to win. Period. Im right where God wanted me to be. Let’s have some fun!”

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