Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry continued his push for student-athletes at Louisiana universities to be required to be present for the national anthem during an interview with Fox News on Wednesday.

Landry issued a statement Tuesday morning, saying that all Louisiana student-athletes should be present for the national anthem after LSU wasn’t on the court Monday for the anthem prior to the Elite Eight game against Iowa in Albany, New York. He said that student-athletes should be at risk of losing their athletic scholarships if they aren’t present for the anthem.

The first-term governor was interviewed Wednesday by Sandra Smith, a Fox News reporter who competed in track and field for LSU after transferring from Illinois State in 2002. Smith seemed sympathetic to Landry’s stance on the issue, but the governor pushed back against the suggestion that he was critical of Kim Mulkey and her players.

“I’m not calling out the players or Coach Mulkey,” said Landry, who wore an LSU shirt for the interview. “I support Coach Mulkey, my statement said that. I think this a bigger question, a bigger problem for collegiate sports nationally and in Louisiana. I just sent out a letter to each one of our college boards, telling them they should put in place a policy that respects the national anthem.”

Landry said the lack of a policy on the national anthem for Louisiana’s student-athletes is “really disrespectful in itself.”

Mulkey said Monday night after the game that their absence for the anthem wasn’t intentional.

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

LSU issued a statement this week saying that its men’s and women’s basketball teams haven’t been present for the national anthem for several years now, and that the teams are still in pre-game preparations when the anthem plays 12 minutes before the contest starts.

Iowa was on the court for the anthem Monday night, and the spotlight of the highly-anticipated game brought attention to the fact that LSU wasn’t present for “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“It’s unfortunate that LSU wasn’t there at that particular time. Iowa was on the field,” Landry said. “That highlighted the particular problem. What we’re going to do is work in Louisiana, and say listen, college athletes need to understand that in order to be truly united, to truly have civics and civility, we need to be united under one flag and respect that anthem.”

Landry pointed to the March 22 LSU-Florida baseball game when he threw out the first pitch at Alex Box Stadium as an example of what each of the state’s athletic departments should aspire to. Both teams were on the field for the national anthem.

“That’s something the athletic department, the university president, the board of supervisors, and not just LSU, but other colleges and universities in Louisiana as well … If you have consistency, you don’t have these kinds of problems,” Landry said.

In closing the interview, Smith asked Landry if the athletes should also be required to stand for the anthem.

“That’s what the university should put in place. They should,” Landry said. “Everybody should respect the flag. If you don’t like it, well guess what, you don’t have to play the sport.”

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