In response to LSU’s women’s basketball team missing the national anthem, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry is calling on colleges to require teams be present.
Before Monday’s Elite Eight game between LSU and Iowa, several social media accounts posted videos of Iowa’s team standing on the court during the national anthem. The Tigers were noticeably absent, resulting in a wave of backlash online.
A number of people, including LSU coach Kim Mulkey, pointed out that the team is never on the court during the anthem. In fact, the Tigers always head back into the locker room during a specific time in their pre-game routine. Around that time, the anthem is usually played.
Though Mulkey shot down assumptions that her team was making some kind of political statement, it hasn’t done much to slow the outrage. Now, Landry wants anthem attendance to be mandatory.
“I just sent out a letter to each of our college boards telling them that those college boards should in place a policy that respects the national anthem,” Landry said on Wednesday’s episode of America Reports. “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 that says, ‘Listen, these players are gonna be out there and respect the flag and respect those that go out there and protect us,’ is really disrespectful in and of itself.
“What we’re gonna do is work in Louisiana and say, ‘Listen, college athletes need to understand that in order to be truly united, in order to have civics and civility, we all need to be united under one flag and respect that anthem.”
Watch above via Fox News.
