Odell Beckham Jr. has posted on Instagram about the Port Arthur flood rescue efforts in Texas. That led some people on Twitter to assume that Beckham was, himself, actually on the boat rescuing people. However, it appears he was just posting about his trainer being out in a boat rescuing people in Port Arthur, and isn’t on the boat himself, although he is relaying information about people needing rescue to the trainer.
Beckham is a New York Giants receiver who has been recovering from an injured ankle.
People on Twitter praised Beckham, mistakenly thinking that the NFL player was actually on a boat rescuing people from the flood waters.
https://twitter.com/heymaryonce/status/902974116688515073
Wrote one man, “Can you imagine being in your flooded house and Odell Beckham Jr. rides up on a boat to save you?”
There’s even a photo of the boat on Beckham’s Instagram story. But it includes his trainer’s handle on Twitter.
Bleacher Report also reported that Beckham was helping out with Port Arthur flood efforts.
OBJ is helping out with the Hurricane Harvey relief effort 🙌 (via @OBJ_3/Instagram)
Celebrity Trainer Alex Fine was praised on social media for helping with the rescues. He says on Twitter that he is “Personal Trainer for hundreds of Pro Athletes and celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, Peter Berg, Devon Windsor, Odell Beckham Jr, and Reggie Bush.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYZ0SBBn58T/
The situation in Port Arthur, a community about 90 miles from Texas, is extremely dire.
Port Arthur, Texas was swamped with 30 inches of rain from Hurricane Harvey on August 30, and people in the small community pleaded for help on social media, saying they were trapped in their flooded homes.
Evacuations underway at Port Arthur shelter after it flooded overnight t.co/gdOOgle9Zk #TexasFlood
The mayor of Port Arthur, Derrick Freeman, even streamed on Facebook Live from inside his home.
Photos and videos showed horrific scenes of severe flooding.
Even an evacuation shelter in Port Arthur flooded.
Video from Kevon Rayford who is inside the flooded Port Arthur shelter #TexasFlood
According to 12NewsNow, the mayor of Port Arthur described the “whole city” as being underwater. The television station reported that hundreds, and possibly thousands, of homes in Port Arthur were underwater as a result of the flooding.
Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick told 12NewsNow: “There are people that are needing to be rescued and evacuated, brought to sheltering areas and given the nighttime hours, the darkness, it’s impossible to wage a boat rescue and we simply don’t have enough high-water vehicles that are available to us.”
Port Arthur mayor: ‘Our whole city is underwater’ t.co/Mz8w4RV4G2
Near Port Arthur. We just passed a woman who said she wasn’t ready to go “yet.” Rescuers say that’s been the frustrating thing through day.
911 call lines were overloaded, and tragic messages were posted to social media from people begging for help.
https://twitter.com/hopeponsegrauXO/status/902915614095835137
At 1 a.m., a woman wrote on social media, “Lord please! If you have a boat please come get me & my family I’m trying to stay calm but the water is coming in at a fast rate.”
An evacuation center in Port Arthur, TX flooded overnight, with water nearly reaching the top of cots at the shelter t.co/glht9ggmcR
There were many similar calls for help.
“This looks like a war zone,” Fox News’ Matt Finn said from Port Arthur. “We are witnessing people being rescued from their homes in bare feet, shivering, some people without clothes.”