The 2023 championship rematch between Iowa State and LSU in this year’s Elite Eight was a spectacular game that earned rave reviews from celebrities, athletes, and fans alike while breaking all-time views Record for most women’s college basketball games.
But Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry was unmoved after LSU didn’t show up for the national anthem on Monday, even before the basketball was bounced, calling for a policy that would allow student-athletes if Without a star period, a student-athlete’s scholarship is at risk. Stars and stripes. “
“My mother coached girls high school basketball during the heyday of desegregation and no one respected the game more than Coach Mulkey,” Gov. Landry wrote on the X on Tuesday. “However, beyond the respect for the game, there is a deeper respect for those who protect us and unite us under one flag! It is time for all university boards, including Regent University, to develop a policy Now, student-athletes must attend the national anthem or risk losing their athletic scholarship! This is a matter of respect that should be instilled in all college coaches.”
My mother coached girls high school basketball during the heyday of desegregation, and no one had more respect for the game and Coach Mulkey. However, beyond the respect for the game, there is also an even deeper respect for those who protect us and unite us under one flag!
This is…
— Jeff Landry (@JeffLandry) April 2, 2024
LSU coach Kim Mulkey said after the game that she didn’t know when the national anthem would be played and that her team’s routine is to leave the court and enter the locker room at the 12-minute mark. Iowa attended the national anthem and lined up along the free throw line with all players holding hands.
“I’m sorry, look, it wasn’t intentional,” Mulkey said after the game.
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South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and her team faced similar criticism when the Gamecocks won the championship in 2022 for not being present during the national anthem during their Final Four victory over Louisville. Staley explained their absence was unintentional and called her players “creatures of habit.”
“I think (the national anthem) was played at 12 or 10 minutes, but because of our pregame ritual, that’s not the time we played,” Staley said at the time. “If the national anthem plays at 0:00, like it did today (at the national championships), we stand there and play the national anthem.”
In college sports, presence is not required during the national anthem, and it is unusual for one or both teams to remain in their respective locker rooms during the anthem. College football teams don’t typically play in regular season games or even bowl games. Neither the Hawkeyes nor the Wolverines appeared to be on the sidelines during the national anthem at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis during the Big Ten college football championship game between Iowa and Michigan in December. However, when the Iowa football team plays a home game, the national anthem is usually played on the field.
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(American Airlines Center prior to the 2023 Women’s NCAA Tournament Championship Photo: Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
