Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry Rips LSU For Losing To Alabama
11/12/2024 12:58 PM
Lousiana Gov. Jeff Landry bashed LSU's loss to Alabama while defending his controversial crusade to bring a live tiger back to the stadium.
Landry got his wish when a caged Bengal tiger named Omar Bradley attended Saturday's SEC showdown in Baton Rouge. However, the actual game didn't go the way he and other fans hoped. Alabama erased any lingering College Football Playoff hopes for LSU with a 42-13 mauling at Tiger Stadium.
Per The Advocate's Tyler Bridges and Andrea Gallo, Landry lamented the outcome at a political event Monday.
"Our tiger, our live tiger, unfortunately, disappointingly, was the only tiger who showed up Saturday. I'm sorry," Landry said.
Landry campaigned to bring Mike the Tiger VII to a home game, but LSU officials relented. The mascot has never gone to a game, as the school halted the tradition with Mike VI in 2015 since the tiger displayed adverse reactions to audio and visual stimuli around the stadium.
However, they found another tiger from a Florida owner with a long list of USDA violations for a lack of proper animal care. Landry said the state or LSU didn't pay for the tiger's transportation, but he wouldn't clarify who did.
Landry's plan faced considerable criticism, most notably from PETA. He defended his actions by complaining about "woke people."
"I had more people come up to me, and they remembered Mike the Tiger more than some of the great plays in Tiger Stadium," Landry claimed. "And they grew up as children seeing this. It's about tradition."
It's unclear if Omar or any other tiger will appear at a future game, but Landry made clear that nobody should blame his stunt for Saturday's blowout.
"The last thing I'll say about this is that since there are some folks who think maybe because the tiger was there, LSU lost," Landry said. "If the tiger has any fault, you can't blame him unless he can stay for the whole game. You threw him out after 10 minutes."
Related: PETA Releases Statement After LSU Bring Live Tiger Mascot To Alabama Game
