If you've never heard of UNLV quarterback Max Gilliam, you're in the same boat that I am. But you'll wish you were on the same boat he was for what he had to apologize for.
Gilliam ate sushi off a nude model on the Bravo reality TV show "Below Deck" in an episode that aired in November. That apparently didn't sit well with Rebels head coach Marcus Arroyo considering his football team is 0-5, the worst mark in the Mountain West Conference.
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If you ask me, though, I don't really understand why he felt the need to say sorry.
College QB Eats Sushi Off Naked Model
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The full video isn't available on YouTube, but this what all the uproar is about.
I had never heard of "Below Deck" before. It's a show that follows that lavish lifestyles of young people who work on yachts and work hard but party harder. That apparently includes Gilliam, a senior from Thousand Oaks High School in Thousand Oaks, California, who has thrown for 599 yards and scored six touchdowns this year.
"I would like to apologize for my poor judgement while on the TV show Below Deck and acknowledge that I have made a mistake that I will learn from," Gilliam apologized on social media. "While it was not my idea nor any of my friends ideas to eat sushi off a model, I should have exercised better judgement and declined the idea immediately when it was brought up by the producers."
"This is not a reflection of my character or the way I was raised nor a reflection of the culture of UNLV Football. I would like to humbly move past this and focus my time and energy on our game against the University of Hawaii this weekend."
Thank you for reading. @reviewjournal @unlvfootball @UNLVathletics https://t.co/2KUP9ElV77 pic.twitter.com/T1ELhx9Shs
— Max Gilliam💰 (@maxgilliam11) December 7, 2020
The episode title "Max and Dax's Excellent Adventure" was reportedly shot back in February and March in Antigua but wasn't broadcasted until November 16. Why it took so long for people to be "outraged" over a college kid doing college kid things is beyond me.
If you ask me, this could be a genius publicity stunt. Apologize for something no one is asking an apology for to make it seem like people care. Considering a whole lot more people now know what "Below Deck" is, I'd say that worked.
Arroyo didn't seem to like the TV show drama his player was swept up in.
"When we talk intently about what we're building here, we mean thoroughly and completely," the football coach told ESPN Las Vegas. "Each of our players, especially our senior leadership, must recognize that when we go out in public we're representing this team, this university and the alumni and fan base. How we conduct ourselves in public is just as important as how we do on the field. I was made aware of Max's recent statement and it is apparent that he also agrees."
I'm lost. Since when did eating sushi off a naked model become a crime? It's not like he was paid for his appearance on the show (at least as far as we know). Johnny Manziel definitely partied hardier than this when he was playing for the Texas A&M Aggies.
This NCAA college football season has definitely been a weird one in the COVID-19 pandemic era. Alabama-LSU was a blowout. Coastal Carolina and Cincinnati are undefeated. Now we can check University of Nevada-Las Vegas star quarterback Max Gilliam eating sushi off a naked woman off our bingo cards.