Louisiana Gov. Wants Scholarships Stripped From Athletes Skipping Anthem

A day after LSU’s season ended at the hands of Caitlin Clark, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry tweeted about coach Kim Mulkey.

It wasn’t to congratulate her on a great season. 

Landry, a far-right Republican who was sworn in as governor in January, chimed in about Mulkey’s Tigers not being on the court for the national anthem.

“My mother coached women’s high school basketball during the height of desegregation, no one has a greater respect for the sport and for Coach Mulkey,” Landry wrote.

“However, above respect for that game is a deeper respect for those that serve to protect us and unite us under one flag!

“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!”

The anthem appears not to be a major part of the pregame routine for many college basketball teams. The Hawkeyes were on the court in Albany, N.Y., for the anthem, but UConn and Southern Cal weren’t on the court for the national anthem for their Elite Eight matchup. In her postage press conference, Mulkey seemed unaware of the situation and said her team has a pregame routine that takes the team off the floor with 12 minutes left before tip-off. 

“Honestly, I don’t even know when the anthem was played,” Mulkey said.

LSU beat reporters confirmed that the Tigers haven’t been out for the anthem all season.

Earlier in the tournament, Mulkey threatened to sue The Washington Post over what turned out to be a relatively innocuous profile and blasted the Los Angeles Times for a column that used offensive language to describe her players. Now Mulkey is under fire from a Republican governor for something no one noticed until this week.