Well, having confidence is one of the necessities of a good cornerback, so maybe former LSU star Tyrann Mathieu's 2013 NFL draft party is just showing teams he has his swag back.
Or, it's a poorly thought out idea that someone should have talked him out of. Either way.
Mathieu posted an invitation to a Thursday party at SL nightclub in New York, which is "For 1st round draft pick Tyrann Mathieu." You'd have a hard time finding a reputable mock draft that has Mathieu in the first round, but maybe he knows something nobody else does. (UPDATE: Mathieu tweeted on Wednesday evening that there wouldn't be any party, see the bottom of the post.)
Even still, is it really the best idea for a player who didn't play college football last year and has been trying to convince teams that he is over the drug issues that plagued his time at LSU to be announcing a nightclub party the night of the first round of the draft? Not to mention the irony in the flyer, considering Sports Illustrated's story last year that pointed out Mathieu put his NCAA eligibility in danger by appearing on flyers promoting parties.
If you think it might be fake or unauthorized, Mathieu's verified Twitter account sent out a reminder of the party:
Come out tomorrow if your in NYC.. My after party is at SL nightClub on 9th &washington!!! Thanks… instagram.com/p/YfR-t8mM7f/
— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) April 24, 2013
Look, Mathieu can do whatever he wants. He's a grown man. Having a party on a big night in his life isn't wrong, and just because he has a party doesn't mean he's going to do anything wrong there. And we do hope he gets drafted and has a great, long career. This whole thing just seems like an idea that's not great for his image on the eve of the draft.
Planning a nightclub party presuming he'll be a first-round pick, when he should feel pretty fortunate to be drafted in the first few rounds after his off-field issues, and announcing it to the world just doesn't seem like the best move. About 15 minutes after sending out the party invitation for when he's drafted in the first round, a notion nobody else seems to share, Mathieu had this to add:
Its been a VERY VERY humbling journey... #Path2Draft — Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) April 24, 2013
UPDATE: A few hours after promoting the party by sending out a link to the flyer that was on his Instagram account, Mathieu backtracked on the "first round" part of it, saying he didn't approve that part.
I didn't say i was going 1st round.. I Did not approve that part of the flyer...
— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) April 24, 2013
And then a little later, he wisely thought better of the whole deal:
There will be no party for Tyrann Mathieu!!
— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) April 24, 2013
That's probably best for everyone involved.
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