The police tried to arrest us for an LSU cigar party

The night that Joe Burrow first became a national sensation was January 13, 2020, when he led LSU to the national title in the school’s home state, defeating Clemson in New Orleans. Photos and videos of him smoking a cigar quickly went viral.

He was about to go viral for another reason when he and his teammates were celebrating. They almost ended up in handcuffs.

Burrow, 25, said on the Full Send Podcast that police tried to arrest LSU players for smoking indoors.

“We all wanted to smoke cigars in the dressing room,” Burrow said. “We started smoking them and the cops come in because you can’t smoke inside or whatever and they start arresting people. After we won the national title. We thought, ‘What’s going on? Come on guys.’

“That was in Louisiana. We played for the national title in New Orleans. They tried (to arrest players). And then I think they finally realized, ‘What are we going to do?’”

There was a brief arrest warrant out for Odell Beckham Jr., the former LSU star who partied with the champions that night. Beckham was recorded slapping a security guard’s bum in the dressing room, leading to a warrant for a simple battery charge that was quickly dropped.

Burrow’s profile is now even bigger. He was the Bengals’ No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and, after tearing his ACL and MCL in his rookie season, led Cincinnati to a Super Bowl appearance three months ago. He’s gone viral for his game day outfits and continues to enjoy a celebratory cigar. But Burrow will always remember that night in New Orleans.

“That’s how it all started,” he said.