UNLV's Starting Quarterback Had to Apologize for Eating Sushi Off a Nude Model on a Reality TV Show
Well this is a new one. Usually when you see a college football player post an iPhone Notes app message on social media, it's an announcement that he is entering the transfer portal — often accompanied with the plea to "respect my decision."
But in the case of current UNLV starting quarterback Max Gilliam, he issued an apology Monday for a recent appearance on Bravo's Below Deck in which he is featured eating sushi off a nude model.
Las Vegas Review-Journal — He appeared with his childhood best friend, Dax Nittolo, another friend identified on the show only as Luke, and their three girlfriends. They chartered the boat out of Jolly Harbour, Antigua.
Dinner on the first night was the highlight of the episode. A world-class chef describes with painstaking detail her sushi preparation, but expresses frustration her efforts may have been wasted on a group that seems far more infatuated with how it was served.
They had requested the sushi to be laid out on a nude model, who had to be picked up from shore and adorned in large leafs before the rice and raw fish was placed over her.
Advertisement
Ok, so there's a bit to unpack there, I reckon. I'll get to the apology in a second, but how the hell was an FBS starting quarterback allowed time to go appear on a Bravo reality show? Division I football players — let alone quarterbacks — rarely have time to do anything, even in the offseason. Even if the football culture is a little different at UNLV, the Las Vegas Review-Journal also mentioned this was filmed in February, still in the middle of a semester and back when everyone was still on campus for classes.
But the real story is what in the world is my guy Max apologizing for? Sure, this is really weird, but are we really mad at a college kid for eating sushi off a model for a television show? It's not like he's playing at Texas Christian; he lives in Las Vegas. I'd imagine if UNLV student-athletes had to publicly apologize for everything they did on The Strip of this magnitude or worse, their SID would never have time to do anything except write apologetic press releases.
I actually want to submit a FOIA request for any communication between UNLV and Bravo because I'm convinced this might just be a ploy for ratings. This episode aired two weeks ago and we're just hearing about it now? Bravo may have dropped the bag to have Max and the school mention the whole "sushi on a naked model" situation to pump those numbers.