Some college teams take to the field backed by a fight song, but not the Adelphi University Lacrosse Team in Garden City, New York.
They’ve been taking to the field backed by the strains of this Donald Trump speech:
“In all of our cities and in all of our towns, I make this promise: We will make America strong again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And we will make America great again! God bless you and good night. I love you!”
The team’s unique choice in fight music came to light on Wednesday after Barstool Sports posted a video on Twitter and Instagram.
Although Trump’s presidency has been polarizing, team coach Gordon Purdie insists his players aren’t trying to make a statement.
“The men’s lacrosse team has traditionally chosen patriotic music for its pre-game warm-up,” Purdie said in a statement to the New York Daily News. “It was not intended to provoke or be taken as a political statement. We’re sorry if anyone was offended.”
An opposing coach told the paper the Adelphi Panther have been using the Trump speech as their coming out music since April, but declined further comment.
Adelphi athletic director Danny McCabe told Newsday that the Trump speech doesn’t violate any of rules regarding warm-up music.
“The men’s lacrosse team’s regular-season pregame warm-up music is selected as a team and approved for use so long as they do not contain vulgarity or inappropriate subject matter,” McCabe said. “The songs they proposed and used this season meet those guidelines. As such, we are obliged to follow the policy.”
Not everyone agrees with the team’s choice, based on Twitter reactions.
Regardless of the reaction, the team seems to be doing well with a 14-3 record on the season and the top seed in the NCAA tournament that begins on Saturday.
Related
Before You Go
