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Governor Landry believes the LSU women’s basketball team should have been on the floor for the national anthem before the game against Iowa. The Governor suggests a policy to remove scholarships from student-athletes who are absent for the national anthem before games. Loyola University Law Professor Dane Ciolino says the proposal is unconstitutional.
“Doing it as a mandatory requirement or imposing a penalty for not attending the national anthem from the standpoint of the first amendment would be an unconstitutional exercise of state power.”
LSU says both men’s and women’s basketball teams have not been on the court for the national anthem for the last several years. Political Analyst Bernie Pinsonat says everyone needs to take a step back.
“Talk about it. See what is worth doing or can you even do it? You still want to protect the student-athletes and their scholarships and the image and reputation of Louisiana. That’s the final solution everybody ought to be zeroing in on.”
Pinsonat believes it has become a political issue due to social media and the popularity of Governor Landry and Coach Mulkey. He says there are a lot of factors related to this policy and it should not be pursued.
“You’re talking about basketball players losing their scholarships. You’re talking about Kim Mulkey. There are a lot of things to consider. And I think everybody ought to sit back, drink a cool lemonade, and calm down.”
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