Criminally clever Canadian

PULLMAN — Washington State defensive end Adam Braidwood cuts an imposing figure with a shaved head, lengthy chin hair and a massive tattoo on his left biceps and shoulder. But the junior, in his first season starting for the Cougars, is actually one of the more talkative players on the team – although he tries to claim otherwise.

Braidwood, a criminal justice major who hails from Delta, British Columbia, took a moment to talk about his tattoo, his native land and his post-collegiate plans with The Spokesman-Review.

S-R: What is it about criminal justice that’s so good?

AB: I want to get away with crimes.

S-R: OK … Any in particular we should know about?

AB: No, no.

S-R: Does this mean a future in law enforcement?

AB: It could be. We’ll see where it goes.

S-R: Well, OK. On the football field, (fellow defensive end) Mkristo Bruce is a loud one. Why is that?

AB: I don’t know. I think it’s just Mkristo’s personality. We kind of feed off each other. I’m real quiet and he gets real excited.

S-R: You’re not that quiet.

AB: I like to say I’m quiet, but I’m not

S-R: The tattoos are definitely not quiet. What’s the story?

AB: It’s just something I always wanted to do. The skull and flames, that’s probably going to be cool forever, so that’s what I figured I’d do.

S-R: How long ago did you get these?

AB: I got this one just this year, the laughing skull and the crying skull. It’s kind of, “Laugh now, cry later.” The ace of spades is there because I always have an ace up my sleeve. This one (pointing higher on his arm) is a little bit older, I got it about a year-and-a-half ago. It just means bad stuff is going to happen — the Grim Reaper.

S-R: Fair enough. Just how much do you get teased for being Canadian around here?

AB: Tons. Just today Coach (Leon) Burtnett was asking me if it started snowing yet in Canada. I told him it was warmer there than it is here. There’s not really a whole lot of connections, especially when you’re down in California. There are no TV shows you can watch or books about Canada, right?

S-R: Does it tick you off after a while?

AB: Sometimes it gets a little old. The stuff about the snow and the cold.

S-R: Your accent’s not too bad.

AB: No, it’s not bad at all. I’ll be OK.

S-R: If you become a cop who commits crimes after getting your degree, are you doing it here or back home in Canada?

AB: (Laughs) I’ll do it here first so I can always go back home.