Beckham downplays Burfict's reputation ahead of upcoming clash

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is aware of what it's like to wear a derisive label suddenly and presented a defense of Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict ahead of their upcoming matchup.

Burfict, considered by many to be the NFL's dirtiest player, racked up numerous sanctions over the course of his five-year career. However, Beckham wasn't convinced that Burfict's reputation precedes him, as the Giants and Bengals prepare to square off Sunday.

"I'm very aware of who he is and where he'll be at on the field,” Beckham said to Steve Serby of the New York Post. "I don't want to sit here and say he's the player that everybody’s trying to box him to be, I'm sure he's not that guy. I don’t quite know him exactly like that."

Beckham said that Burfict could change his behavior both on and off the field and it wouldn't shape public perception.

"Once somebody gets labeled something, it's hard to get out of that anyways," Beckham said. "Once you get put in that box, there’s no really getting out, 'cause it’s always gonna resort back to that.

"He could turn into a modern-day Buddhist, and still, one little incident, he sneezed on somebody wrong, and he's back to being a dirty player."