Shaq, Coco Gauff issue endorsements in Student Government election. See the tickets they support

By Courtney Bell, Reveille Managing Editor

March 20, 2026

Memorial Tower rises above the Parade Ground Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, on LSU’s campus in Baton Rouge, La.

Celebrity athletes Shaquille O’Neal and Coco Gauff have issued endorsements in the current Student Government election.

In a video posted Wednesday to the Frazier-Miceli: Together campaign Instagram, the LSU basketball legend says, “Listen, I’ve seen leaders. I’ve seen winners. Darion Frazier and Bellamia Miceli are both.”

Late Thursday night, the Holliway-Gonzalez HEART campaign posted their endorsement from the tennis star currently ranked No. 4 in the world.

“Don’t forget to vote for Tyhlar Holliway for student body president and Gabreyela Gonzalez for vice president,” Gauff says in the video. “They are committed to serving your campus with heart and commitment.”

The Frazier-Miceli: Together campaign told the Reveille O’Neal is a family friend. Frazier’s uncle is former NBA player Walt Clyde Frazier, the presidential candidate told the Reveille, which connected the two athletes.

“Shaq endorsed the campaign because he sees our vision for LSU and our commitment to win,” the campaign wrote in a message to the Reveille Friday.

The campaign told the Reveille they did not pay for the endorsement.

The HEART campaign has not responded to a request to comment on Gauff’s endorsement, though both Holliway and Gonzalez expressed gratitude for Gauff’s support in the post’s comments.

By Friday afternoon, The Miller-Hebert: Rooted campaign posted a video with endorsements from former LSU football player and two-time Super Bowl champion Booger McFarland, former LSU baseball player and college baseball Hall of Famer Todd Walker and other notable LSU sports figures.

Then the Barousse-Harrell: Home campaign posted two videos with endorsements from several campus icons and current student athletes, including LSU football player Whit Weeks and Tiger Band’s Kent Broussard, also known as Tiger Tuba Kent.

The Reveille reached out to the Home and Rooted campaigns Friday afternoon for a comment on the endorsements.

Another campaign is hopeful for big-name support. Tagging former LSU gymnastics national champion Livvy Dunne and Heisman winners Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels, the crawFISH campaign pleaded with the athletes.

“Would any of you want to back two dudes who lost Fantasy Football and have to run for Student Government as a punishment?” reads crawFISH’s post.

Voting ends at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Unofficial results will be announced Wednesday.

About the Contributor

Courtney Bell, Reveille Managing Editor

Why did you join the Reveille?

I love LSU and I love to write, so joining the Reveille was a dream for me ever since I moved to Baton Rouge. I was very excited when I saw an opening in the news section because I knew my work could be impactful and rewarding.

What positions have you held at the Reveille?

I was a news reporter prior to becoming the deputy news editor, then news editor and now managing editor.

What’s your favorite thing about working at the Reveille?

The people that I’ve met through reporting have been incredibly impactful on my life. I covered a lot of heavy topics in my time as a news reporter, but the people I interviewed held positive outlooks and were incredibly engaged no matter how difficult their work was. The same is true for the people I work with at the Reveille. These mindsets and work ethics have been very motivating and impactful to me.

What’s your favorite story that you’ve written so far?

I wrote a story about Louisiana Parole Project, an organization that helps people who have been incarcerated with their re-entry process. My interviews from this story made me a much more thoughtful person, and meeting the people who were incarcerated was eye opening.

What do you hope to do after graduation?

I hope to become a state politics reporter.