A former LSU Tigers running back once had a promising career, but has since taken a step away from the football field.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a former Doak Walker Award semifinalist in college during his time as a running back on the LSU football team. Edwards-Helaire was an excellent running back and a member of the 2019 College Football National Championship team for LSU. A tragic incident in college left a man dead and altered the career trajectory of the running back forever, as he now deals with serious post traumatic stress disorder due to the incident.
Former LSU Tigers Running Back Clyde Edwards-Helaire Unfortunate Victim of Attempted Robbery
Back during the 2018 college football season, Sony sponsored a bowl game as they do each collegiate bowl season. The LSU Tigers happened to play Fiesta Bowl, which was sponsored by Sony, and each player was gifted a Playstation gaming console. Some players had additional consoles already and chose to sell their old console after receiving the gift.
One of the players who elected to sell his old console was running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, a star on the LSU Tigers offense. Edwards-Helaire and LSU teammate and linebacker Jared Small traveled to sell the gaming console to an 18-year old native of Orlando, Florida, where the bowl game was scheduled to be held. The 18-year old entered the vehicle and brandished a hand gun instead of the agreed upon money, and attempted to rob the two athletes of their money and the console.
Edwards-Helaire and Small struggle to remember the exact details, but a wrestling match ensued and the victim was shot and killed during the scuffle. It is unclear who pulled the trigger and also if there was a second weapon brought by one of the LSU Tigers players. Both players were released without facing any charges and avoided suspension from the LSU Tigers staff as well.
Edwards-Helaire only recently felt comfortable enough to open up about his struggles following the shooting. The running back is the son of a combat veteran, and only felt comfortable with speaking about his struggles after his father detailed the struggles he faced coming home from combat. Edwards-Helaire announced he would take a leave of absence from the Kansas City Chiefs, but does not know when he will return.
Despite Tragic Shooting, LSU Tigers Football Accepted Edwards-Helaire Back
Following the shooting, there was plenty of conjecture assuming that Edwards-Helaire was engaged in some illegal dealings or was hanging out in a bad area. Instead, it was just the opposite, as the running back was only looking to sell his additional gaming console. Many media outlets were quick to jump to conclusions and felt the career of Edwards-Helaire was over before it started.
The running back will be the first to admit that the path back to the field was not easy, but Edwards-Helaire surprisingly returned just two weeks later to the field. The running back felt solace playing football, and did not feel burdened by the accident that occurred when he was on the field. Despite his passion and love for football, Edwards-Helaire admitted it has become harder and harder to focus on the game.
Edwards-Helaire spoke about the incident that occurred when he was a member for the LSU Tigers team recently. The running back stated, “You feel like your whole life is as a football player or everything is geared towards this, but it is so much more… there is some many things that come with a person.” Edwards-Helaire also stated that he had been feeling increasing anxiety when trying to play the game he loves, and spent less and less time focusing on the field.
The running back announced he would step away from the field for a period of time to focus on his mental health and potentially overcoming the incident. The Kansas City Chiefs and the LSU Tigers have both showed their support for the running back during this extremely difficult time in his life. May Edwards-Helaire and his family find peace during their time of need.
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