UNLV starting quarterback Max Gilliam issued an apology Monday for eating sushi off of a nude model while appearing on the reality television show “Below Deck.”
Yes, you read that sentence correctly.
Gilliam claims the sushi idea came from the show’s producers.
“I would like to apologize for my poor judgment while on the TV show Below Deck and acknowledge that I have made a mistake that I will learn from. While it was not my idea nor any of my friends’ ideas to eat sushi off of a model, I should have exercised better judgment and declined the idea immediately when it was brought up by the producers,” Gilliam said in a message posted to Twitter.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Gilliam first appeared on the show in an episode that aired last month and was identified as a “star quarterback at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.” The show focuses on a group of crew members who work and live on a yacht and features the passengers aboard the boat.
Gilliam was one of those passengers and appeared alongside a few friends and their girlfriends. Per the Review-Journal, the first night after they board, the group “requested the sushi to be laid out on a nude model.” This season of the show was reportedly filmed in Antigua in February and March.
“This is not a reflection of my character or the way I was raised nor a reflection of the culture of UNLV Football. I would like to humbly move past this and focus my time and energy on our game against the University of Hawaii this weekend,” Gilliam wrote.
According to ESPN Las Vegas, first-year UNLV head coach Marcus Arroyo said Monday that the university was “unaware of the details of the matter” until it was brought to their attention on Monday morning. Arroyo said the situation is being reviewed “internally.”
“When we talk intently about what we’re building here, we mean thoroughly and completely. Each of our players, especially our senior leadership, must recognize that when we go out in public we’re representing this team, this university and the alumni and fanbase,” Arroyo said. “How we conduct ourselves in public is just as important as how we do on the field. I was made aware of Max’s recent statement and it is apparent that he also agrees.”
Gilliam, a senior, has played all five games this season for the Rebels, who are 0-5. Gilliam has thrown for 599 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 60.3% of his passes. He also has 191 yards and two touchdowns rushing. Gilliam started seven games in 2018 and finished the season with 1,394 yards, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
UNLV is set to close out its season on the road against Hawaii on Saturday.
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