LSU's Brian Kelley Says His Teams Are Rarely Present For The National Anthem Before Games

LSU football’s head coach Brian Kelly became the newest prominent figure in Louisiana college athletics to weigh in on whether teams should be present for the national anthem.

This all started on Monday night when OutKick’s Dan Zaksheske asked LSU women’s basketball head coach Kim Mulkey why her team wasn’t present for the national anthem before their Elite Eight matchup against Iowa. Mulkey responded by saying that her team was simply following their pregame routine, and that it wasn’t a sign of disrespect.

Kelley said his teams are rarely on the field for the national anthem. (Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)

"Honestly, I don’t even know when the anthem was played," Mulkey said. "We kind of have a routine when they’re on the floor and they come off at the 12-minute mark. I don’t know, we come in and we do our pregame stuff. I’m sorry, listen, that’s nothing intentionally done."

After learning about LSU’s actions, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry tweeted out that he wants athletes to be required to stand for the anthem, or risk losing their scholarship.

Kelly Weighed In With His Thoughts On This Issue

After a Spring practice on Saturday, Kelly spoke with the media about how his team has handled being present for the anthem in the past. He said that in over three decades of coaching, his team has hardly been on the field for the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner" due to their pregame routine.

"It's just the way that it's been scripted, and I've been doing this for 33 years, and on my hand, I could tell you how many times we've been out there for the national anthem," Kelly said. "That's not to say we're against what the governor's saying, we understand where the governor's coming from."

He added that his team would do whatever LSU athletic director Scott Woodward wants the school’s teams to do.

"If our administration wants us out there for the national anthem, we're going to stand proud for the national anthem," Kelly said.

While I do appreciate the coach’s candor, it’s still not a valid explanation. As OutKick’s Glenn Guilbeau pointed out, teams can easily adjust their pregame routine to be present for a 90-second song before a game.

It’s not that hard to show respect for your country while still getting your team ready. It’s a shock that Kelly needed 33 years to think about this.