Odell Beckham Jr finds himself in the spotlight once again, but for the wrong reasons. The Browns receiver finds himself at the center of a scandal surrounding LSU athletics.
At LSU’s National Championship victory in January, Beckham Jr. reportedly handed out money to players following the win. Per the NCAA’s strict rules governing student-athlete compensation, his offense solicited a school’s Level 1 violation.
To minimize the NCAA’s penalties, the university already imposed self-punishment. The program pledged to give up 8 scholarships for the team and a reduced recruiting window for themselves.
In addition to the recruiting roadblocks, LSU banned Beckham from team facilities for 2 years. For now, the program seems cooperative according to a released statement reading: “We believe these self-imposed penalties are appropriate and we will continue to coordinate and with the NCAA on this matter.”
OBJ’s star power may be a powerful decider for the NCAA when investigating the claims. Despite his blatant offense at the 2020 National Championship, LSU initially denied claims of any wrongdoing. They even went to the lengths of claiming the money was counterfeit.
The absurd claim came to light at the hands of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. This year’s number 1 pick and former LSU star later confirmed the allegations, landing Beckham Jr. the punishment in the process.
OBJ’s ban seems devastating enough, but with the NCAA yet to conclude the investigation, LSU may come under more fire in the following weeks.
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