LSU’s student, Madison Scharfenstein, a walk-on tennis player had a video surface of very hurtful comments, according to 4WWL.com. The video displayed Scharfensein using the slur and then laughing directly after in the following video.
Horrifying Video via Twitter:
this, I assume. tennis player.https://t.co/fRoSWSgMKL
— name but also a little joke (@bearsaremean) September 17, 2022
Shortly after, LSU didn’t appreciate how their school was represented by Scharfenstien and this later led to a statement being released. This can directly affect their recruiting and just overall support from the university. Many sponsors or partnerships may want to separate themselves from this kind of publicity. The statement LSU released Saturday afternoon after the incident took place:
“We are aware of the social media post regarding one of our student-athletes, and we are taking prompt action to deal with it. We do not tolerate behavior that goes against our core values and student conduct expectations.”
We are aware of the social media post concerning one of our student-athletes, and we are taking immediate and deliberate steps to address it. We will not condone behavior that is in violation of our core values and expectations of student conduct.
— LSU Tigers (@LSUsports) September 17, 2022
Who is Scharfenstein for LSU?
While she hasn’t played much for LSU although they have only played one game thus far. The school is launching a full-blown investigation and possibly serious consequences will result from it. According to NOLA.com, this process took place with a former track athlete Elijah Odinet. He has kicked off the team after a video emerged of his mother, Michelle Odinet, using the N-word.
Sadly, LSU has been repeating offenders of this similar instance. In January, the school caused some headlines by allowing a gymnast from UCLA to join the team after disgusting remarks. Once this appears to be a pattern many feel concerned about allowing their children to attend. These consequences can have huge rippling effects going forward for the University.
“We still believe the process we went through netted the information consistent with us moving forward,” Clark said Friday night after LSU’s 196.850-196.150 win at Georgia. “If there is more to come, we’ll deal with it.”
LSU continues to be a prestigious college, however, if this pattern continues the relevancy and reputation may be tarnished completely. They will be forced to take action to assure this doesn’t occur going forward.
