Respecting the national anthem at sporting events used to happen without question.
Now woke athletes want to make a political statement.
And a Governor wants college athletes to pay this price for disrespecting the national anthem.
The Elite Eight matchup in the NCAA women’s college basketball tournament between the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers and the Iowa Hawkeyes was a rematch of last year’s national title game.
And this year’s game – driven by Iowa superstar Catlin Clark –became the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history with 13.2 million viewers, beating out last year’s World Series in the ratings.
But the highly-anticipated contest won by Iowa was marred by controversy.
LSU women skip the pregame national anthem
While the Iowa women held hands during the pregame national anthem, the LSU women had left the court to go back into their locker room.
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
LSU Coach Kim Mulkey was asked if skipping the national anthem was a conscious decision on her part after the game.
“Honestly, I don’t even know when the anthem was played,” Mulkey said. “They come off the floor at the 12-minute mark (before tip-off). I don’t know, we come in, and we do our pregame stuff. I’m sorry. Listen, that’s nothing intentionally done.”
Skipping the national anthem was routine for the LSU women this season.
And that decision got the team on the radar of the state’s Republican Governor.
Louisiana Governor wants to penalize skipping the anthem
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry (R) said that college athletes who skip the national anthem should lose their scholarships on social media.
“Above respect for that game is a deeper respect for those that serve to protect us and unite us under one flag!” Landry wrote on X. “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.”
A spokesman for the LSU athletic department admitted that both the men’s and women’s basketball teams regularly skipped the national anthem to do final preparations for the game.
Landry doubles down on his stance
Former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick kicked off the trend in sports of kneeling during the national anthem to call attention to his far-left political agenda in 2016.
The trend has now been normalized so that the national anthem isn’t something to be taken seriously.
Landry doubled-down in support of stripping athletes of their scholarships during an interview with Fox News host Sandra Smith – who ran track at LSU.
“Everybody should respect the flag,” Landry said. “If you don’t like it, well, guess what? You don’t have to play the sport.”
And he said that the players should be standing and show respect during the anthem.
“It’s unfortunate that LSU was not there at the particular time,” Landry continued. “Iowa was. That highlighted the particular problem. 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, ‘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.”
The LSU women could be standing and showing respect during the national anthem next season if Landry can get his policy change.
