Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry urged state officials to enact a policy that requires student-athletes to be present for the national anthem after the LSU women’s basketball team received harsh backlash for missing the national anthem before its regional final game against Iowa Monday night.
The Republican governor became the latest figure to call out the Tigers for being noticeably absent during the national anthem.
LSU forward Angel Reese, center, and LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson, right, talk as Reese leaves the court during the fourth quarter of an Elite Eight round game during the NCAA Tournament Monday, April 1, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
“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.
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“However, above respect for that game is a deeper respect for those that serve to protect us and unite us under one flag!
“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! This is a matter of respect that all collegiate coaches should instill.”
Jeff Landry, the former attorney general of Louisiana, during a Weaponization of the Federal Government Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., March 30, 2023. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A video from OutKick’s Dan Zaksheske showed Iowa players on the court holding hands during “The Star-Spangled Banner.” LSU had left the court right before the anthem was played.
LSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL COMES UNDER SCRUTINY FOR MISSING NATIONAL ANTHEM BEFORE GAME VS. IOWA
Mulkey said after the loss to Iowa her team’s absence was “routine.”
“Honestly, I don’t even know when the anthem was played,” Mulkey said, via OutKick. “We kind of have a routine when (our players are) on the floor, and they come off at the 12-minute mark (prior to the game).”
Head coach Kim Mulkey of the LSU Tigers during the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament at MVP Arena April 1, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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According to nola.com, neither USC nor UConn were present for the national anthem before their Elite Eight game Monday night.
The Tigers haven’t been present for the national anthem all season, and they were not present for it during last year’s national championship.
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