The LSU women's basketball team lost to Iowa Monday night, but the team's absence during the national anthem before the game is what gained Governor Jeff Landry's (R) attention.
The next morning, he posted on X that it is time for all college boards to establish a policy requiring student athletes to be present for the national anthem or risk losing their athletic scholarship.
"The national anthem is as much a part of American sports as is the actual game that's being played," he went on to tell Fox News. "The fact that there is not a policy that says … 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."
In response to the criticism, LSU head Coach Kim Mulkey has asserted that the team's absence was not deliberate.
"Honestly, I don't even know when the anthem was played," she said. "We kind of have a routine where we are on the floor, and then they come off at the 12-minute mark. I'm sorry … that's nothing intentionally done."
According to an LSU spokesperson, the men's and women's basketball teams have stayed in the locker room during the national anthem for a long time now.
"Our basketball programs have not been on the court for the anthem for the last several seasons. Usually the anthem is played 12 minutes before the game, when the team is in the locker room doing final preparations," LSU Associate AD Cody Worsham said in a statement Tuesday.
That has not helped matters.
Gov. Landry says this is something college leaders across the state need to take a look at.
"If you have consistency, you don't have these kind of problems," he submits.
