Odell Beckham Jr. says even ‘Stevie Wonder can see’ NFL refereeing issues

Odell Beckham Jr. lashed out at the referees for Week 13’s Giants-Steelers showdown after New York’s loss, calling the officials “horrible” after being the victim of some dubious no-calls. On Wednesday, he doubled-down on his criticism.

“Everyone knows what’s going on on the field,” the All-Pro wide receiver told reporters. “Everyone can see it. Stevie Wonder can see it. It just is what it is. You can’t do anything about it. There’s no point. I shouldn’t have even brought it up.

“It’s always a lose-lose situation. Either you’re speaking out on it and trying to defend yourself or the other way around in which you’re complaining. Either way it goes, I shouldn’t have ever brought it up. Nothing is going to change. No calls are going to be made because of what I say now. You just have to keep playing.”

Beckham’s complaints fly in the face of the advice quarterback Eli Manning handed down on Tuesday while speaking with radio host Mike Francesca. The veteran passer suggested building a relationship with the officials to help avoid some of the frustrating calls that have the wideout so upset.

”He’s got to be careful of that,” Manning told Francesca. “I think that with officials, you want to kill them with kindness. They’ve got a job to do and they’re going to do it to the best of their ability.

“If you start jabbing at them and talking at them, that’s not going to help your case. That’s not going to help you get calls if they’re close. He’s got to learn to be a good guy and learn how to warm up to those guys so he can get some calls.”

Beckham probably didn’t endear himself to the refs by suggesting their bias was so obvious even a legendary blind musician could see it. Or maybe he’s hoping next week’s crew will be big Songs in the Key of Life fans and cut him a break.

Either way, bold strategy.