Things have gone south for the LSU Tigers late in the season, with distractions galore arising from reported recruiting violations.
The player at the center of some of the allegations, Javonte Smart, was held out of Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt, with the school clarifying that the player has not been accused of wrongdoing and is being benched out of “an abundance of caution.”
LSU issues a statement on Javonte Smart. pic.twitter.com/vwb2wZ41ml
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 9, 2019
Ultimately, LSU’s statement throws coach Will Wade under the bus. Wade was suspended indefinitely by the school after showing up on wiretaps discussing payments alleged to be to Smart, and he has also refused to cooperate with LSU’s investigation. Thus, Smart suffers, as the school simply doesn’t have a lot of clarity as to his status right now.
