Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry on Monday responded to controversy surrounding the LSU women’s basketball team. The squad apparently left the floor prior to the national anthem being played before their Elite Eight game against Iowa.
The Tigers claim they were simply caught up in their pre-game routine. But video of the incident sparked a storm of controversy nonetheless.
A clip on social media shows the ladies on Iowa’s side of the court holding hands while the anthem plays. It then pans to the other side of the court where there are no LSU players.
Iowa players holding hands during the American National Anthem. LSU players left the court before the anthem was performed. pic.twitter.com/GhCLHUXiBX
— Dan Zaksheske (@RealDanZak) April 1, 2024
RELATED: LSU Players Leave Court Before National Anthem – Coach Kim Mulkey: ‘Sorry Not Intentional’
Louisiana Governor Rips LSU Over National Anthem Controversy
Numerous critics took the LSU team to task for not being on the floor as the national anthem played. Governor Landry was among that crowd.
Landry though, has the power to affect change. And he threatened to do just that.
“My mother coached women’s high school basketball during the height of desegregation, no one has a greater respect for the sport and for Coach [Kim] Mulkey,” Landry wrote in a post on X.
“However, above respect for that game is a deeper respect for those that serve to protect us and unite us under one flag!”
Landry also called on officials to implement a rule change regarding the national anthem. He would like to see the change linked to the privilege of receiving athletic scholarships.
“It is time that all college boards, including Regent, put a policy in place that student-athletes be present for the national anthem or risk their athletic scholarship!” he demands. “This is a matter of respect that all collegiate coaches should instill.”
RELATED: LSU Star Angel Reese Breaks Down In Tears: ‘I’m Still Human’
LSU Claims Ignorance
The national anthem snub, according to LSU’s coach Kim Mulkey, appears to have been inadvertent. She says the team’s actions were not intentional and were simply part of a typical pre-game routine they were going through to prepare for the game.
“Honestly, I don’t even know when the anthem was played,” Mulkey claims. “We kind of have a routine when they’re on the floor and they come off at the 12-minute mark. I don’t know, we come in and we do our pregame stuff.”
“I’m sorry, listen, that’s nothing intentionally done,” she dismissed.
Kim Mulkey said her team didn't intentionally leave the floor prior to the playing of the United States National Anthem.
— Dan Zaksheske (@RealDanZak) April 2, 2024
"Honestly, I don't even know when the anthem was played. We kind of have a routine [for leaving the court at a certain time]." pic.twitter.com/JclJExC1Ym
LSU wasn’t on the floor for the anthem ahead of last year’s national championship game victory over Iowa either. It appears, some reporters have noted, that they are not on the floor during the national anthem for any of their contests.
LSU doesn’t appear to be the only team that gets caught up in their routine and winds up in the locker room as the anthem is playing. Supporters of the team named several others on social media who do the same.
Landry’s call for policy change and a threat to rip athletic scholarships away in response, additionally, was widely panned on social media as an overreach of power.
Does a rule need to be implemented regarding the national anthem and collegiate sports? You tell us.
