LaVar Arrington reacts to viral clip of defendant leaping over judge’s bench

Was anyone else thinking about the LaVar Leap when watching this viral video?

By now you have probably seen the viral clip of a defendant jumping over the judge’s bench to attack the judge shortly after being denied parole. It was nearly impossible to miss the clip if you were online browsing your social media feeds or checking in on the news, either locally or nationally. The incident took place in a Las Vegas courtroom, and it is pretty safe to assume we now know why the right decision was made in rejecting this man’s ability to be placed on parole.

The judge suffered minor injuries, which is a relief given the scary situation that unfolded. But you may be wondering why we are discussing this on an outlet focusing on Penn State sports. The viral clip had some reminiscing of the time former Penn State linebacker [autotag]LaVar Arrington[/autotag] made a somewhat similar leap over the line of scrimmage to make a big play against Illinois.

Someone made that reference and mentioned Arrington on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account, and Arrington responded.

For all of the highlights and success Arrington had as a player both in college and in the pros, his iconic play is without question when he timed his jump perfectly over the line of scrimmage against Illinois on a fourth-and-short in 1998. Arrington cleared the offensive line and landed right at the Illinois runner to bring him down for a loss just after the handoff.

Now. almost a quarter century later, that play is still being mentioned in casual social commentary.

Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.