I flew multiple times per week for about 20 years. It was my standard practice to immediately fall asleep once I sat down on the airplane. The difference is I buckled my seatbelt before falling asleep. But I can see why someone would unbuckle the belt if there was a delay in the flight taking off.
“In and out of consciousnes” could mean he’s a deep sleeper and only groaned at them when they tried to wake him. After 20 years of flying, I still automatically wake up when the airplane pitch changes and the plane starts decending.
This story sounds fishy to me. I’m not understanding why they needed to return to the gate to wake him up. Maybe it’s an airline policy we don’t know about.
I get it from the airline POV also. Having a sick passenger on a 5 hour flight is a recipe for disruption. Better to get the passenger off the plane before it takes off. Having called the cops and emergency services, the airline was locked into removing him. They couldn’t just say, “Whoops. We were wrong.” Because if he really was sick, then he or other passengers could sue the airlines for taking off with him on board. Maybe the flight attendants did nothing wrong AND ALSO Odell Beckham did nothing wrong.
I blame the lawyers!!!