Ray Lewis calls out Odell Beckham

Former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is no stranger to controversy, and he has made a few controversial statements in his post playing career so far.

Earlier this season, he called out former teammate Joe Flacco for having a lack of passion on FS1, and used the same platform to call out a player who can never be accused of that same charge. The player is New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who Lewis called out in an appearance on “Speak for Yourself.”

This is a somewhat harsh, but also pretty fair point about the dynamic young wideout and some of his antics on and off the field this season. Regardless of how anyone feels about the “boat-gate” scandal leading up to last Sunday’s wild card playoff game, Beckham would do well to recognize that any single step he takes will be scrutinized to a degree that maybe even hasn't been seen yet thanks to his presence on social media (voluntarily or otherwise).

While this is a pretty true point from Lewis, there will be those who undoubtedly have a negative response to it because of the source. Lewis was a player who often was portrayed as a “me-first” type of personality, and that to this day rubs certain people the wrong way.

However, despite the trouble he got himself into (and eventually out of) in 2000, Lewis kept a pretty clean reputation on and off the field, and also never proved to be a huge distraction to the team. That is a problem that Beckham will have to figure out how to deal with over the next couple of years, as his already flaming star will only continue to rise.

Hopefully for the seemingly well-intention but often misunderstood wideout, he is able to do just that.