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Randall Gay, who played on championship teams for both the New Orleans Saints and the LSU Tigers, is graduating from Southern University Law Center Saturday, along with his wife, Desha.



The Brusly couple is among 165 students getting their law degrees at the 10 a.m. ceremonies in the F.G. Clark Activity Center on Southern’s Baton Rouge campus.

Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, the executive vice president and treasurer of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is giving the commencement address.

A native of Opelousas and Southern University Law Center alum, she is Wal-Mart’s chief tax officer.


Gay was part of the 2003 LSU team that won the BCS National Championship and during his rookie season started for a New England Patriots team that won the 2004 Super Bowl XXXIX. He later joined the New Orleans Saints as a cornerback and helped win the 2009 Super Bowl XLIV.

While he was playing for the New Orleans Saints, his wife Desha started talking about going to law school, and Gay said it sounded like a good idea to him.

“I have competed all my life, and the law is about competing too, only one on one with another lawyer,” Gay said.

The Saints gave him time off during a mini-camp to take the LSAT, the standardized Law School Admission Test.

His football career ended with a concussion in 2010, and after a year off for recovery, the couple entered the Southern Law Center. The National Football League paid the costs as part of a program for former players.

Gay is graduating cum laude. The Latin term means “with praise” and is awarded to students with a grade-point average of more than 3.5 on a scale of 4.

He’s unsure about the future beyond passing the bar exam that will allow him and his wife to practice in Louisiana. “I have no plans to move away,” Gay said. “But I’m fortunate to be in a position where I don’t have to rush out and find a job immediately. We’ll see what happens after we pass the bar. That’s the next goal.”

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