LSU AD Scott Woodward responds to national anthem criticism from Louisiana governor
LSU athletic director Scott Woodward on Friday responded to a complaint from Louisiana governor Jeff Landry regarding the Tigers women’s basketball team apparently not being on the court for the national anthem. The absence drew an angered response from Landry, who took to social media to air his greivance.
While LSU head coach Kim Mulkey explained it was merely the Tigers following their usual routine of leaving the court right before the game, a move not factoring in the anthem — also a common occurrence in various college sports — the matter didn’t entirely die down. Even still, Landry sent a letter to the Tigers athletic department containing his complaints.
And with Landry calling for a uniform policy and punishments for those who skip out on the anthem, Woodward responded, indicating the Tigers can handle the matter just fine themselves.
“We have reviewed Governor Landry’s letter on the national anthem. At LSU we have and will always be dedicated to the flag, the anthem and the country. We consistently look at all our processes and will do so again. As Louisiana’s flagship university, LSU always strives to represent the higher ideals and values of our students, our state and our country,” Woodward said in the statement.
Landry aired more of his issues in an interview on Fox News
In a recent interview, Landry expanded on his problems with what happened.
“Iowa was on the field. That highlighted the particular problem,” Landry said. “And what we’re going to do is work in Louisiana, say, ‘Listen, college athletes need to understand that in order to be truly united, in order to truly have civic sensibility, we all need to be united under one flag and respect that anthem.’”
Landry pointed to his recent experience at an LSU baseball game as being more indicative of the sense of pre-game coordination around the anthem that he’d like to see.
“Look, I went out and threw one of the first pitches for the Florida-LSU game several weeks ago. The first thing the baseball team did, we had the national anthem,” Landry said. “Both the teams were out there. If you have consistency, you don’t have these kind of problems. And guess what, it’s as much a part of the fan experience, just like you said. Think about a Little League baseball game. I’ve seen kids be more behaved during the national anthem than they are during the sport itself, because it’s respect for our nation. And that’s what I think we should be getting back to.”
The Fox News host then threw one more tricky question at Landry: Will his mandate to the boards of the universities require student-athletes to stand during the national anthem, as opposed to kneeling or sitting, rather than merely being present?
“Well listen, again, that’s what the university should put in place. They should,” Landry said. “Everybody should respect the flag. If you don’t like it, well guess what, you don’t have to play the sport. I would hope that all of the Final Four teams would be out there respecting our nation and letting everyone know that we’re united under one flag.”