The recent tension between intercity rivals LSU and Southern continued tonight, but this time was left on the field.
The baseball teams squared off at Alex Box Stadium and Southern was declared the winner 9-5.
The ongoing tension between the two schools increased a couple of weeks ago with the cancellation of a Salt ‘N’ Pepper event that some felt resulted due to racism and discrimination.
The scene Tuesday night was anything but controversial. Fans from both sides filled only a third of the stadium, and the only exchange of words among them was that of agreement over bad calls on both sides.
Joining in the conversation were redshirt Southern players who were aware of the tension between the two schools.
“I had planned to go to the party with a friend from LSU — football player Brandon Ledgister,” said Southern student athlete Victor Franklin. “I left Saturday night open so I could go because I heard it would be good. Then another LSU friend told me it got cancelled.”
He heard two different stories.
“I heard that they were worried about the tension between the two schools, but I also heard they could not find a place to have it. I believed they didn’t have a place because I couldn’t believe it could be because of the tension. I don’t see tension between us.”
Other Southern redshirts disagreed because they had experienced discrimination first hand.
“I refuse to go to Tiger Bar now because they would not allow me in over a tiny brand name on my polo shirt — some brand they said they outlawed,” said Southern student and athlete Chris Benham. “I have fun at all the other bars like Reggie’s, but I won’t go near Tiger Bar. I was shocked because I’m not used to prejudice against color. I went to almost an all white school and there was never a difference in treatment or attitude — just skin.”
Players for both teams have minorities as part of the team. LSU has only one black player on the team — junior Quinn Stewart. Southern is in the reverse role as a prominent black school with only a hand full of white players on its roster.
“They joke around with me a little bit every once in a while, but really they respect me for being brave enough to come to a racially dominant school as a white guy,” said Southern pitcher Cody Elliott. “There is no difference at all. There is never a problem, so from my standpoint it is kind of shocking with the way the event was handled.”
Stewart sees the situation with a different perspective as well since he is in the same position as Elliott as a minority.
“I think people blow it out of proportion. I have friends on the Southern team and I know their coaches. As far as a conflict . . . that is left on the field,” Stewart said. “As long as they respect me I respect them. We are a team — we have to be a family especially at times like this. When everyone is against you, all you have is your team.”
Two female Southern students felt the same way as Stewart when they found seats on a half-empty bleacher. With several seats around them, two LSU fans, both male, claimed the seats as their own and waited for the girls to move down — to the rest of the empty bench. One girl leaned on the other and just blew it off saying “just have to move to avoid a conflict.”
On the other end of the spectrum two older gentlemen joked back and forth about their teams being robbed of a run or a called strike. At the end of the night the man sporting an LSU cap extended his hand to the black man covered in Southern apparel. The two men engaged in a friendly hand shake exemplifying a bridge between the two schools.