Tyrann Mathieu knows Will Smith suspect Cardell Hayes

Tyrann Mathieu is from Louisiana and was a star football player in the state during high school and college, so it’s not too surprising that he says he knows Cardell Hayes, the suspect in the shooting death of Will Smith.

Mathieu, who played at LSU before moving on to the NFL, tweeted about Hayes on Sunday after learning of Smith’s death:

Mathieu then began to get political talking about societal issues:

Until y'all get them crooks out of office and until y'all give these kids something constructive to do, the violence will continue to grow!!

— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) April 10, 2016

They can't go to parks like I was able to, because the grass ain't cut & the rims have no nets nor do they even have rims ..

— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) April 10, 2016

The budgets cutting into "education" "recreation" and everything else that is VITAL to a kid having success..

— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) April 10, 2016

Not too mention half of their fathers are in prison… So this isn't coming from an angry place but from a person who has made it out!

— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) April 10, 2016

Cardell Hayes was a top football prospect in Louisiana for the class of 2005. An LSU Scout page says he was receiving interest from LSU, Florida, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Kentucky, among others. Mathieu didn’t come out of high school until 2010 — several years later — but they’re both a part of the same football-playing community in New Orleans.

Hayes has been charged with second-degree murder for Smith’s death.