Started from ‘The Bottom’: In a new profile of Derrius Guice featured in The Washington Post, the former LSU star running back discusses his disappointing draft experience in April, his rough upbringing in Baton Rouge and how football has kept him grounded. “‘Just to see all the people you played with growing up either dead or in jail right now,’ says Guice as he scrolls through a text message conversation with a friend whose twin brother was shot in the head, mouth and neck during a recent drive-by shooting. ‘Every day, I get a new story about somebody that just got shot. Shot or in jail, doing life.’” Guice was selected 59th overall by the Washington Redskins. Read the full profile.
Anthem agreement: NFL owners approved a new policy today aimed at addressing the firestorm over national anthem protests sparked by Colin Kaepernick and polarized by President Trump, The Associated Press reports. Players can now stay in the locker room during the “The Star-Spangled Banner” but they must stand if they come to the field. Any violations of the policy would result in fines against the team, not the players. While the owners touted the change as a compromise and noted it was approved unanimously, the players’ union made it clear it was not part of the discussions. Read the full story.
CGI expansion: CGI is expanding its Lafayette IT Center of Excellence and adding a second Lafayette location, creating 400 new jobs, Gov. John Bel Edwards’ announced Tuesday. With the expansion, CGI Lafayette center’s cumulative payroll will exceed $480 million in the next decade,and will employ more than 800 professionals at both the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Research Park as well as at an undetermined new site in Lafayette Parish. To close the deal, the state offered the company an incentive package that includes a performance-based grant of $5.3 million to offset the costs of personnel relocation, recruitment and training as well as operation and maintenance costs. Read the full story.
