New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave was arrested late on Monday night for reckless driving as he was reportedly doing 35 mph above the posted speed limit in addition to swerving around other cars in a residential and commercial area. He was released before midnight following the arrest, which occurred at 9 p.m. ET.
On Tuesday evening, the arrest video surfaced online. And it's not a good look for the Saints star.
While standing outside of his vehicle and being questioned by a Kenner Police officer, Olave appears to try and leverage his way out of an arrest or ticket by saying, "I play for the Saints, man." The questioning officer was having none of that, replying, "And...?"
Chris Olave arrest video has some troubling signs for Saints star WR
It is worth noting that, at other points in the bodycam footage, Olave does appear to show some remorse, noting apologetically that he was just trying to get home from the store. Before the "play for the Saints" comment, he also said, "My bad, dawg" to the questioning officer, another show of contrition.
At the same time, bringing up his celebrity athlete status is a bad look, as it always is in this situation. Whether or not it was Olave's intent or not, it reads to most people watching the video like the wide receiver (or any athlete or celebrity in a similar situation) trying to sway the officer to let him walk because of the NFL team he plays for.
Olave was a focal-point of the Saints' loss in Week 7 on Thursday Night Football after he shouldered blame (and may have been thrown under the bus by QB Derek Carr) for not running a completed route. His arrest only further puts him in a negative light, this time with potential off-the-field consequences.
There has been no word if the NFL or the Saints will reprimand Olave. The arrest video, however, won't do the wide receiver any favors.
