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OBJ, LSU departures stealing spotlight from Tigers' championship

4 years 10 months 6 days ago Thursday, January 16 2020 Jan 16, 2020 January 16, 2020 9:35 PM January 16, 2020 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - 72 hours removed from winning the national title, that victory is being overshadowed.

Two separate incidents involving former LSU wide receiver, Odell Beckham, Jr. are stealing the spotlight. The first came on the field following Monday night's win over Clemson. Beckham, Jr. is seen handing players cash. LSU says it is currently working with the NCAA and SEC to rectify the situation. The other issue gained steam Thursday. Video from the locker room shows Beckham, Jr. hitting a security guard on the rear when he confronts players smoking cigars. New Orleans Police have issued an arrest warrant for simple battery. 

"The fact that any of this is part of the conversation does in someway take the attention away from what happened on the field," ESPN 104.5 radio host Matt Moscona said.

Moscona doesn't think Beckham, Jr. intended to drive attention away from the team, but says that's exactly what's happened.

"His immature decisions have led everyone down this road, such that it's circumstances you can't ignore at this point," Moscona said. 

The radio doesn't believe LSU should cut ties with the NFL star over the controversy but adds things must change.

"LSU is going to have to put some parameters around not only Odell but every former player to prevent instances like this from happening again," Moscona said. "You want Odell Beckham near your program. The players want Odell Beckham near the program. But in the end, this is something that's got to be fixed." Moscona said. 

Some fans are disappointed attention has been taken away from the perfect season.

"After such a great game on Monday night, it's a shame this is what is driving the news cycle right now," LSU graduate John Paul Miller said. "I thought it was kind of a selfish act to begin with by Odell."

Some former Tiger players shared similar thoughts. 

"I don't care how excited you are. I don't care that you are in the locker room, you can't do that and now you have to deal with this," former LSU safety Ryan Clark told Moscona Thursday.

However, Beckham, Jr.'s antics aren't the only headline other than the national championship. Just one day after seven players declared for the NFL draft and hours after Joe Brady officially joined the Carolina Panthers, news broke that defensive coordinator Dave Aranda was accepting the head coaching job at Baylor. 

"When you have a coach like Dave Aranda and you have the success that Dave Aranda had defensively, it is an inevitability that you're going to lose him," Moscona said. 

Moves like this are typical for championship-caliber teams, Moscona says. Even with the other storylines involving LSU football right now, he adds nothing can take away what LSU accomplished on the field this season.

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