Recently, the LSU women’s basketball team sparked controversy when they were not present for the playing of the national anthem before facing off against Iowa in the NCAA Tournament LSU would go on to lose the game 87-94.
Since the incident, the university and its athletic programs have been under intense scrutiny over whether they intentionally disrespected the national anthem. In response to the controversy, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry called on state officials to legally mandate that student-athletes be present for the national anthem.
LSU football coach Brian Kelly reacted to Landry’s statements, maintaining that he and his team would “proudly stand” for the national anthem if the university requested it. He noted that the team will be “wherever we’re told to be.”
“I saw it. I know everybody has had their comments about it. I know we put out a statement, (LSU athletic director) Scott Woodward put out a statement as well,” Kelly stated. “I think our football players would echo this — is that if, at any time, we’re required to be out there, we’ll be wherever we’re told to be. And that’s the bottom line. If our administration wants us out there for the national anthem, we’re going to stand proudly for the national anthem.
“It’s just the way that it has been scripted. And I’ve been doing this for 33 years. On my hand, I can tell you how many times I’ve been out for the national anthem in 33 years. That’s not to say we’re against what the governor is saying,” he added.
Kelly further noted that he sympathizes with the governor’s stance. Additionally, he cited the proud display of patriotism shown during a game against Army, where the stadium was decorated in support of the military.
“We understand where the governor is coming from. We’ll re-look at the policies, and I stand by what Scott has said. I look back at the Army game and how proud we were of that moment to have Army in our stadium. What we did to that stadium to show our patriotism and patriotic backing. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get past this pretty soon.”
Despite a statement from LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey claiming their absence from the anthem was not intentional, Landry stated it represents a larger issue within college sports. According to the governor, college boards should enact a policy prioritizing respect for the national anthem.
“I’m not calling out the players or coach Mulkey. I support coach Mulkey. My statement said that. I think this is a bigger question,” Gov. Landry explained. “This is a bigger problem for collegiate sports nationally and in Louisiana. I just sent out a letter to each one of our college boards telling them that those college boards should put in place a policy that respects the national anthem,” he said.
Landry further emphasized the importance of the national anthem and its place in American athletics. He added that players should be obligated to show respect to the nation through honoring the national anthem. “The national anthem is as much a part of American sports as is the actual game that’s being played. And the fact that there is not a policy, and it says, ‘Listen, these players are going to be out there and respect the flag and respect those that go out there and protect us is really disrespectful in and of itself,’” he said.
Watch Gov. Landry here:
Republican Governor of Louisiana Jeff Landry criticizes the LSU women's basketball team for missing the national anthem:
"Everybody should respect the flag. You don’t like it? Guess what? You don’t have to play the sport." pic.twitter.com/gIAsaixkn3
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 4, 2024
Featured image credit: Andyohsbass09, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commonshttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brian_Kelly.jpeg
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