Sports Illustrated cover NON-story on Tyrann Mathieu is a joke

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Sports Illustrated writers Pete Thamel, formerly of the New York Times, and Thayer Evans, who wrote a great story on Mathieu back in September that you actually should read, allege in a Sports Illustrated cover story titled “Trials of the Honey Badger” that former LSU defensive back Tyrann Mathieu may have committed NCAA violations by allowing his photo appear on the cover of bar flyers and for appearing in an event promoting video.

This is the biggest non-story of the season and an absolute joke of an article.

What Sports Illustrated has done is sensationalize a video where Mathieu is seen standing and bragging with his New Orleans friends, whom he has now disassociated himself from, about a party at a club called The Palace. The friends are stating how the whole LSU team will be there, obviously not true, and while Mathieu probably did attend the party, there is no reason to assume that he was let in free or compensated in any way for appearing in a YouTube uploaded video made by his friends.

This is they type of article that Sports Illustrated is running in the middle of the college football season after the biggest weekend of the year thus far. An article about a player that isn’t even on the team, hasn’t had the easiest life, didn’t help himself by making the same decisions his father made, and is trying by paying his own way at LSU to regain control of his life so that he can rejoin the team he loves. Mathieu could have gone the FCS route and played football at another school immediately with the possibility to transfer back to a FBS school, but he chose to try to get his life in order by working with John Lucas in Houston and attending school at LSU.

In putting Tyrann Mathieu on the cover of the magazine, Sports Illustrated is doing exactly what they are alleging Mathieu did in promoting the party. SI is dragging Mathieu’s name and image through the mud for allowing his image to be used, if he even allowed it outside of the video with his buddies, while they use his image to sell more magazines.

HYPOCRITS!

As Clay Travis puts it:

 The only person on earth right now who can’t make money based on Tyrann Mathieu’s talents is Tyrann Mathieu.

Travis couldn’t be more correct. The most widely circulated sports magazine is making money off of Tyrann Mathieu this week, a college kid who made some bad decisions, and while it would be easy to say that Mathieu made his bed and he should lay in it and shouldn’t be allowed to return to LSU, I ask you this one question, would you want a chance to straighten out your life and rejoin the team you love to play the game you love?

If you answered no, you aren’t human.

LSU head coach Les Miles has also addressed the allegations:

The only thing I can tell you is we’ve discussed this with Anthony, and Anthony said he participated as everyone else would participate, the cover to go in. If they used his likeness they were  not given his permission and he asked to be taken off.

I’m trying to remember this thing in March. I don’t even know that I was up to speed on it for a March event. I am told that our guys did the right things and did not participate in the planning stage or a promotional piece.

And Tyrann’s parents have answered their final questions from anyone in the media for a while they told Fox 8 Sports:

They twisted things and cobbled together details from past articles because we wouldn’t sit down with them. We have always believed in being a tight-knit family. God first, family second, work and school third.

That’s what Tyrann is doing now, and he’s on an avenue to success, making good grades and putting his life in order.

Many may think this is a biased opinion, but I can tell you I am not the only one who feels this way that has a platform to share.

Every Day Should be Saturday
Out Kick the Coverage
Friends of the Program
I Bleed Crimson Red

Have one to add? Comment with it.

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Anyone remember this? Can anyone tell me what punishment was handed down by the NCAA? Exactly.