Ben McAdoo and Eli Manning aren't the only people who think Odell Beckham Jr. would be better off reining it in. Even one of the most bombastic figures in NBA history thinks it's all a bit much.
"He has to be smarter than that," Charles Barkley said Tuesday at a sit-down lunch with media where he spoke for over two hours on dozens of topics. "He has to understand that it's cute when you go propose to the net when you win, but if you had lost that game _ that penalty when he took his helmet off ]after scoring a touchdown], they'd be crushing him today."
"He's brought him on himself."
Beckham basically won the Giants the game on Sunday _ 222 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a comeback over the Ravens _ but nearly cost his team, too. Doffing his helmet after his go-ahead score helped ignite a scary drive by the Ravens in the final minute.
Then there was his ongoing saga with the net _ swinging at it on the sidelines in Week 3, eventually making peace with it and, on Sunday, getting on one knee and proposing. The antics did not amuse McAdoo.
Barkley, who had some colorful moments himself during his 16-year career and afterward _ said Beckham is toeing a thin line.
"He has to realize that unfortunately, in sports, all that stuff is cute" only if you win, he said. "These guys [in the media] are going to write really nice things about you when you win and they'll crush [you] when you lose ...
"That's the way it is in this fame business."
