LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 17: LeBron James (L) and Odell Beckham Jr. attend as Remy Martin presents Beats Party on February 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for Remy Martin)
When news broke that NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is signing with the Los Angeles Rams, Lakers star LeBron James was quick to welcome him to L.A.
Although it shocked the NFL world when Odell Beckham Jr. signed with the Los Angeles Rams, it honestly shouldn’t have: OBJ enjoys the celebrity life, evidenced plenty by his Met Gala appearances and infamous boat parties.
One celebrity athlete ready to welcome him to La La Land was Lakers superstar LeBron James, who shared his excitement at the prospect of Beckham Jr. on the Rams.
LeBron James offers warm Los Angeles welcome to Odell Beckham Jr. over Twitter
Some took the love James showed for Beckham Jr. personally, as James is an Ohio native and lifelong Cleveland Browns fan. Beckham Jr. was released by the Cleveland Browns last Friday after Odell Beckham Sr. Beckham Jr.’s father, shared a video indicating that his son did not get the ball enough.
It was the final straw in a tense relationship between Beckham Jr. and the Browns, where Beckham Jr. appeared to echo the sentiments of his father: he was underutilized in Cleveland.
James agreed, saying that Beckham Jr. is a “WR1” while using the hashtag “#FreeOBJ.”
While James was being friendly to a fellow athlete/celebrity moving to L.A., doing it to someone who scorned the Browns earned him the nickname “LeCon James.”
However, James is known to extend a hand to athletes across all sports and franchises, which was even more clear when he invited Damian Lillard to his L.A. home to discuss a potential future with the Lakers. As James has done since moving to L.A., OBJ will have the opportunity to grow his brand even bigger than he did in NYC with a much better football team.
Although Beckham Jr. is expected to start playing roughly 10 days from now, James can catch OBJ make his SoFi debut on Dec. 5 when the Rams host the Jacksonville Jaguars.