Odell Beckham Jr.’s Pregame Dance-Off With Marquise Goodwin Was Actually An Awesome Act Of Kindness

On Monday night before the New York Giants’ game against San Francisco 49ers, Giants’ wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and 49ers’ wide receiver engaged in a little pregame dance-off.

While it wasn’t well-received all around, the Big Blue View reported that there was a touching reason behind the display. Beckham was actually dancing for Deja, Goodwin’s sister, who suffers from cerebral palsy.

Deja has almost no control over her muscles, and is permanently confined to a wheelchair. According to ESPN, Goodwin has described his sister as his inspiration in everything he does, and the dance-off before Monday Night Football was especially to bring a special smile to Deja’s face.

Goodwin later retweeted a video clip of Beckham dancing for his sister, and captioned it with, “This made my sister Deja’s whole year. Love forever brudda.”

In the video footage, Deja’s delight at the dance is evident for all to see as she watched Beckham and her brother, moving her arms as best she could to dance along with them. She also scored a hug from the Giants player. As the two walked away from the end zone where Deja was, they continued their cheeky little two-step onto the pitch.

“She inspires me to do everything. So, yes, I dedicate it to her,” Marquise said.

“If Deja wasn’t my sister, I feel like I would still be motivated but not in the way that I am today. Having a disabled sister, that’s a lot more motivation, especially when she tells you growing up that she wishes she can be out there with the kids playing and she wishes she can be out there running around.”

Goodwin has repeatedly shown his affection for his family in wonderful ways. Earlier this year, he bought his mother and sister a new house to live in, sharing an emotional reveal video to his Instagram account.

Given his adoration of his younger sister, it’s understandable that Goodwin will be eternally grateful for the wonderful thing that Beckham did just to put a smile on Deja’s face.

Despite the obvious good deed the players were carrying out, not everyone was happy with their little dance. NBC Sports reported that NBC Sports Bay Area analyst Donte Whitner, a former 49ers safety, didn’t like the opposition players “mingling before the game,” and became particularly upset about it when Goodwin dropped a fourth-quarter pass that led to a Giants interception.

“That last throw to Marquise Goodwin, where he had the ball in his hands and it popped up, that’s what happens when you dance with your opposition before the game,” Whitner said on 49ers Postgame Live. “When you sit in the end zone and you dance with Odell Beckham Jr…. I don’t like that. That tells me that you’re not a responsible professional athlete. You don’t really care. You’re dancing with this guy because he has a number of followers on Instagram or whatever. No, we don’t do that if we want to win football games.”