First, he urged LSU to have its football players on the field during the playing of the national anthem.
Now, Gov. Landry has another request for the team: bring out its live mascot, Mike The Tiger, to football games.
This, despite concerns from veterinarians about the tiger’s well-being.
The story was first reported for the Louisiana Illuminator by Piper Hutchinson.
“LSU did this for many, many years, and it stopped officially in 2017,” Hutchinson notes. “The previous Mike had not come to games for several years before that because of an aversion to the lights and the sounds and the fireworks that was just stressing the tiger out and making him very uncomfortable.”
Landry and three other conservative officials who are also veterinarians recently met with the dean of the school of veterinary medicine, Oliver Garden, during which time Landry made the request.
Among the other officials present was Minden Rep. Wayne McMahen, who Hutchinson says was very skeptical of whether Landry’s request was a good idea.
“Mike is eight years old at this point. He’s basically middle age,” Hutchinson says. “Rep. McMahen was very concerned about trying to teach this tiger new tricks.”
This latest request comes on the heels of Landry urging LSU and other state schools to have their athletes present during the playing of the national anthem and revoking scholarships for those who refuse to do so.
Hutchinson says this will likely not be the last time that Landry involves himself in LSU athletics matters.
“I think LSU and LSU sports, in particular, are very alluring political tools for a governor,” Hutchinson says. “It’s hard to resist. I think that Landry has taken more interest than other governors in getting involved in the team’s business.”
Citing responsible care for exotic animals, LSU says it will not be bringing Mike back onto the field for Saturday’s game against Nicholls — or anytime soon, for that matter.
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