Jayden Daniels sent a cease and desist letter to LSU earlier this week, demanding that they stop using his name, image and likeness. Daniels feels he is being disrespected by the school because they have not retired his number and are letting another player, cornerback DJ Pickett, wear the no. 5 this year.
This has not gone over well with anyone. Evern if you agree that Daniels deserves to be honored by the university in perpetuity after he won a Heisman there, there’s really no arguing that getting lawyers involved and making this a public debate is just kind of lame.
Robert Griffin III, a fellow Heisman winner, explained why Daniels’ was making a huge mistake.
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RG3 on Jayden Daniels’ disrespect
“Every Heisman trophy winner’s jersey number should be retired in college football. It’s the most exclusive fraternity in the world,” said Griffin. “But hey, this cease and desist letter from Jayden Daniels’ team is a colossal mistake for three reasons. Reason number one, jersey retirements are an honor. It’s not something to be demanded. And it certainly isn’t something you should try to strongarm your school into doing for you.”
Griffin also pointed out that this put Daniels at odds with the LSU Tigers fanbase, which he calls “one of the most passionate fanbases in all of sports.” And comparing himself to Joe Burrow is not going to work out for him. Daniels led the Tigers to a 15-0 season and a national championship. Daniels went 9-3 and skipped the team’s bowl game.
Finally, Griffin points out what a distraction this is as Daniels and the Commanders are heading into the season.
Basically, Griffin puts together a more thorough case against this move than Daniels could ever make. Of course, this is all easy for Griffin to say since Baylor built him a statue.
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