LSU won’t alter football pregame tradition for national anthem, despite Gov. Landry’s request

by Piper Hutchinson, Louisiana Illuminator
August 28, 2024

Despite Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s request that universities strip scholarships from college athletes who are not present during the national anthem, LSU will not be changing its beloved football pregame tradition. 

“There will not be any changes to our pre-game football processes this season,” LSU athletics spokesman Zach Greenwell said in a statement to the Illuminator. 

Landry spokesperson Kate Kelly declined to comment on LSU’s decision. 

Landry made the request to all four of Louisiana’s higher education systems in April after the LSU women’s basketball team was not on the court for the “Star Spangled Banner” before its NCAA Tournament game with Iowa. Video that showed Iowa’s team on the court but not LSU went viral on social media, mostly fueled by conservative accounts. 

“It is time that all college boards, including Regent [sic], 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,” Landry posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. 

Landry’s request raised eyebrows among LSU football and basketball fans, as the teams have always remained in their locker rooms during the anthem. Landry’s suggested policy would strip more than a hundred student-athletes of their scholarships.  

At the time, LSU released a statement from Athletic Director Scott Woodward that said “we consistently look at our processes and will do so again,” sparking fears the football team would alter its pregame routine that has remained largely unchanged for decades. 

Fifteen minutes before kick-off, LSU’s “Golden Band from Tigerland” lines up in the stadium’s south end zone. The band takes to the field to perform “Tiger Rag,” an old jazz standard adopted by the university, before playing the alma mater and finally, the national anthem. 

At this point, the band lines up on both sides of the LSU locker room exit, and the Tigers storm the field in the final moments before the game begins. 

Landry is not the first Louisiana conservative to take an interest in athletes’ anthem habits. A similar situation occurred in 2017 when unnamed state legislators threatened LSU’s funding if players kneeled during the national anthem. Kneeling during the anthem at athletics events spurred a heated political debate after NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick did so in 2016 in protest of police brutality against Black people. 

The threat was withdrawn after then-LSU President F. King Alexander reminded lawmakers the football team remained in the locker room during the anthem, The Advocate reported. 

Similar protests have largely been absent from major college athletics programs. Many college athletics programs keep their athletes off the field or court during the anthem. 

LSU’s football season kicks off Sunday with a game between the Tigers and the USC Trojans in Las Vegas.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: [email protected]. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and X.