BATON ROUGE — LSU's athletic director and Louisiana's governor each took to X on Friday to display how both are dedicated to the ideals put forth by the American flag and the national anthem.

After the LSU's women's basketball team had missed the national anthem ahead of its Elite Eight contest against Iowa, Gov. Jeff Landry suggested that players who miss the Star Spangled Banner should lose their scholarships. This week, he wrote to the leaders of all state colleges and universities and asked them to implement a similar policy.

LSU athletic director Scott Woodward responded Friday, saying the school had reviewed Landry's letter.

"At LSU we have and will always be dedicated to the flag, the anthem and the country," Woodward posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. "We consistently look at all our processes and will do so again.

"As Louisiana's flagship university, LSU always strives to represent the higher ideals and values of our students, our state and our country," Woodward wrote.

Thank you Scott #LSUAthleticDirector for your leadership as well as the entire LSU community. This has never been about Coach Mulkey, a stalwart of our time, great citizen of Louisiana and patriot!  Nor about our girl's basketball team, who have beat the critics and rose to the… https://t.co/e79gUvnSGZ

— Jeff Landry (@JeffLandry) April 5, 2024

While it was the LSU women's team's pre-game meeting that irked Landry, the governor posted Friday on X that his criticism was not specifically directed toward the LSU players nor their coach, Kim Mulkey — whom he called a "great citizen of Louisiana and patriot!" He also asked for a national policy.

"This is about traditions and consistencies, that without either, we remain consistently divided! Now it is time for the NCAA ... to step up and show leadership," he wrote.

Mulkey's teams have not been on the court for the national anthem for years, as the team leaves the court 12 minutes before tip-off and returns for player introductions and the game. LSU's football team, and its opponents, are also in the locker rooms by the time the Golden Band from Tigerland takes the field 16 minutes before kickoff.