New Orleans Native Tyrann Mathieu Says He Received Death Threats Following Will Smith’s Murder

After the senseless killing of former New Orleans Saints’ defensive end Will Smith on Sunday, many members of the NFL community have been speaking out about gun violence in New Orleans, including Saints’ head coach Sean Payton. Also among those to speak out was Cardinals’ cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, who grew up in the city and went to college at LSU. Mathieu took to Twitter to say that he knew the man who shot and killed Smith, Cardell Hayes, and called him a coward.

I know that dude, he been a hating ass coward…. Never knew he’d grow up to be a killer though…. May you get what you deserve, coward.

Mathieu went on The Rich Eisen Show on Monday to speak about Smith’s death and the culture of violence that surrounds the city of New Orleans. During the interview, he revealed he had been receiving death threats after tweeting about Hayes.

“I think it was one of those situations where, he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and he bumped into the wrong person. I look at that personally, and, Rich, it’s not really for me to put his personal business on air. Because when I came out yesterday and called him a coward, I received death threats from guys in New Orleans, from his relatives. I’m thinking to myself ‘what do you guys want from me?’ I’m only here to speak the truth, that’s it.”

Friends of Hayes have publicly called out Mathieu for his remark, which has since been deleted, but the Pro Bowler’s Twitter still features several messages condemning Smith’s murder.

In addition to specifically mentioning Hayes, the former All-Pro defensive back has also been outspoken about the culture of violence in New Orleans in general. During his interview with Eisen, Mathieu said that he can’t go back to his hometown for more than 48 hours because of fear for his own safety, and he said that part of the problem stems from jealousy of those who make it out and become successful.

“I’m trying to give everyone the truth of a culture that’s divided. New Orleans is a place of great celebration. Great celebration. You can go down and have a great time. And then there’s this other side of it, to where if you walk too far up Canal Street, you’ll get robbed. If you go in certain areas, like the area will Smith was in, something bad is going to happen to you… And a lot of times, like I said earlier in the show, a lot of times, Rich, it stems from jealousy man. Because a lot of people, they want to be famous. They want to have money. They want to have success. And they only way they can really brag about something is if, ‘Oh man if I sell drugs, I can brag about being a drug dealer. If I take lives, I can brag about being a killer.’ That’s the culture now.”

Mathieu’s words are truly powerful, and hopefully, if there is anything good at all to come out of Smith’s death, it will be a more concentrated effort to make New Orleans a safer place.