Getty Will Wade, who is currently suspended from LSU and under investigation.
Heading into their second game of the tournament, LSU remains without their electric head coach Will Wade, who is suspended following a Yahoo Sports report of incriminating evidence from an FBI wiretap in 2017. Initially, LSU freshman Ja’vonte Smart was suspended alongside Wade but was by all accounts extremely cooperative with the university and the NCAA and was able to get himself reinstated after just one game.
LSU was able to pull off an admirable victory in the first round against a very underrated Yale team and the team as a whole seems to be rallying behind the fact that they are missing their dynamic head coach.
No Will Wade, no problem?
@GoodmanHoops talks LSU’s mindset entering the tournament.
Will Wade LSU Basketball Suspension: The Basics
Wade, however, refuses to speak with the NCAA or LSU regarding the matter. Wade offered a prepared statement in which he said:
“I have been placed on leave because I exercised my right not to submit to a joint LSU/NCAA interview on the exact same subject matter at issue in an impending federal criminal trial in New York. My legal counsel advised the University that it would be wholly inappropriate for me, or anyone, to submit to an interview under these circumstances.”
Wade was also mentioned in last years notorious Adidas scandal and is known nationwide as one of the best recruiters in college basketball. Although Wade remains suspended he had previously asked LSU for permission to return to his coaching duties, LSU is holding firm on their stance that he will not return until he talks. The school spoke to Sports Illustrated’s Tom Skinner and said in response:
“In everything that’s been said by Will and his folks in the past week, not once have they denied any wrongdoing. As a university and employer, we need to hear our employee say, ‘I didn’t do anything wrong,’ or explain the circumstances or admit he did do something wrong. We’ve been unable to get to that point. We have no choice, in terms of institutional control, to not suspend someone.”
Will Wade Investigation: Latest on LSU Coach Suspension
In the most recent news on the Will Wade front, LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva more or less begged Wade to just talk to LSU on the matter. Alleva went as far as to say:
“I don’t know how deep this goes. That’s the problem, and Will’s refused to talk to us. That’s the hardest part for me. I wish he’d come in and just tell the truth. Just tell me what went on. I can handle the truth even if it’s bad.”
.@GoodmanHoops talks about his conversation with LSU AD Joe Alleva on the Will Wade suspension.
It is obvious that LSU wants Wade back at the helm of the team and is ready to accept whatever the truth may be. At this point, the ball seems to be in Will Wade’s court and the decision on if and how he wants to return is up to him.
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Will Wade Investigation: Latest on LSU Coach Suspension