Again, I honestly don't understand what off-the-field "model citizen" behavior has to do with being a leader ON THE FIELD. Sure, no one wants an LSU on-the-field-leader that gives LSU a negative reputation when it comes to off-the-field issues. But I don't understand why RP has such a thug image to some of you people (only thugs come close to getting kicked off the team, RP never "damned-near" came close to being kicked off LSU's team during the off season, as you falsely claim). Here's what RP did to get a negative reputation to you people that don't respect him:
1)
MISDEMEANOR -- In the summer of 2007, RP used a fake id to try and get into a casino. Wow. Shame, shame, shame on him. What a thug loser. What a disgrace to LSU. I can't believe the guy is even still on our team.
The police had to give such a high-profile superstar like RP a misdemeanor summons for that because if they didn't, it would make the police look bad because they were favoring athletes. But I have been involved with a situation where a kid got caught using a fake ID to get in a casino, and all the police did to him was take him to the station, where they scared him pretty good and made him feel pretty bad -- but they didn't issue him a misdemeanor summons like they did to RP. Seriously, using a fake id to get into a casino is not even as serious of a misdemeanor as speeding (which puts other people's lives in danger). Not "model citizen" behavior, but not that big of a deal.
2)
MEDIA ALLEGATION -- In addition, within the same two weeks that RP got his terrible misdemeanor for the fake id casino thing, you had the press report some story about some alleged counterfeiting issue that RP might have possibly been linked to. But the press even admits they have no proof, and that it was all speculation. As far as I'm considered, until the press gives us some sort of proof that RP had anything to do with some counterfeiting scheme, the whole story is bogus, and shouldn't reflect on RP.
3)
SUSPENSION -- Like I wrote above, I don't think RP's misdemeanor summons was that big of a deal (not even as bad as a speeding ticket). And, like I wrote above, I think the media counterfeiting allegation was bogus. So why did Coach Miles suspend RP for these two incidents that happened in the span of two weeks in the summer of 2007? Because morons-that-love-blowing-things-out-of-proportion would trash LSU if Coach didn't. But how real was this "suspension" of RP? It was during the off-season. By the time preseason practice began, Miles dropped the whole "suspension." A "suspension" doesn't mean that much unless it keeps the kid from practicing with the team, and like I said, RP's "suspension" was (not surprisingly) lifted on the night the Tigers reported for camp in August.
4)
VARSITY BRAWL -- A bunch of LSU players went out to the Varsity one night to watch LSU DT Marlon Favorite and his band perform a concert. That night at the Varsity, according to the police report, which you can read
here, "a large fight occurred" that "started inside and spilled out onto the back parking lot" The media claims that LSU players (including RP) were involved in the fight, but the police report didn't say anything about who was involved in the fight, it just said that "No one reported being injured and no one wished to file a complaint or press charges."
5)
GUN INCIDENT -- According to that same police report, some Varsity bouncer claimed (the next day) that, during that brawl at the Varsity, "a man he believed to be Ryan Perrilloux ran up and pointed a gun at him and his girlfriend." How ridiculous is that? The police took it seriously and gave the guy a photo line up to see if he could pick out RP's face. As the police report states, the Varsity bouncer couldn't even pick out RP's face from the photo line up. The police concluded that "upon reviewing all available footage of the area taken from security cameras and city-installed crime cameras, investigators were unable to locate any visual evidence whatsoever to support this allegation" by the Varsity bouncer. In other words, that's just a polite way of saying that this Varsity bouncer is a complete liar trying to trash RP.
6)
DAMAGE TO VEHICLE -- This had nothing to do with RP, but it is worth mentioning. After the brawl at the Varsity, "three black males" came back to the Varsity an hour after the brawl took place, and smashed the window of an SUV parked outside. They were caught on video by security cameras and the police charged LSU's Derrick Odom with breaking the window. A month earlier, Odom was one of three black males who damaged another vehicle near LSU's campus (the victim, a student worker with the LSU Football Operations Center, said the three black males were Derrick Odom, Xavier Carter, and Steven Williams). Odom was arrested in that incident as well. A month before that, Odom was arrested for simple assault, attempted unauthorized entry into an inhabited dwelling and two counts of simple criminal damage to property. After his third arrest, Odom was kicked off LSU's team.
7)
FIRST REAL SUSPENSION -- After that whole Varsity incident, which included the police identifying Odom as the guy who broke a car window (an hour after the fight was over), and which included a false allegation that RP was pointing a guy at people during the brawl, Coach Miles announced at his press conference that "
All I know is that both players that have been named will not practice today, Ryan Perrilloux and Derrick Odom, and we will prepare to play without these guys." Odom got kicked off the team (three arrests in three months), RP was only suspended for a week (including the Alabama game). To me, its pretty unfair that RP got suspended from the team, but that's what happens when some moron accuses you of pointing a gun at people during a bar fight (fortunately, the police ended up proving that the Varsity bouncer was a complete liar when he publicly accused RP of pointing a gun at people in a bar fight).
CONCLUSION -- All RP did was use a fake id to get into a casino. That's the only criminal charge he has gotten. Sure, he was accused of being involved in a counterfeiting scheme and accused of pointing a gun at people during a bar fight, but the authorities investigated both situations, and have so far concluded that both claims are bogus. As for Miles two suspensions of RP, the first one (in respond to the misdemeanor casino fake id thing) wasn't even a real suspension, and the second one was only because RP was publicly accused of pointing a gun at people during a bar fight. I don't think RP is the thug a lot of your people think he is.
Here's some pics from when the LSU team arrived in New Orleans a few days before the NC game vs. Ohio State. The LSU team bus arrived at the Marriott on Canal Street (where the LSU team was staying), and as the LSU team got off the bus, they were greeted by a throng of fans. Look how humble and sweet of an angel RP looks like, even when the camera and most of the crowd completely ignore him. How could anyone be worried about the integrity of such a nice, humble guy?
Click to expand...