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Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. says his dog celebration was response to Trump

Apparently, the routine was more clever than most originally thought.

New York Giants’ Odell Beckham, right, celebrates with Sterling Shepard after a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Philadelphia.
New York Giants’ Odell Beckham, right, celebrates with Sterling Shepard after a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Philadelphia.Read moreMichael Perez / AP

Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. scored the first of his two touchdowns against the Eagles on Sunday, imitated a dog urinating in the end zone, and was quickly penalized for the celebration, which prompted fans and pundits to admonish the star receiver for committing such an act.

But what initially looked like an act of disrespect was actually a clever response, apparently, to President Donald Trump and his comments from last week, when he suggested that an NFL owner should respond to a player's protesting the national anthem by getting "that son of a bitch off the field."

CNN's trend and franchise editor, AJ Willingham, asked Beckham on Twitter on Monday afternoon whether his celebration was in response to Trump.

Beckham indicated that it was, but did not elaborate.

If that was indeed Beckham's intent, what he did after his second touchdown makes even more sense in hindsight, when he merely put his fist in the air as a display of solidarity with other protesting NFL players.

"I was in the end zone. I scored a touchdown," Beckham said to the media after the game Sunday. "I'm a dog, so I acted like a dog."