Jason Butt: Louisiana governor offers empty threat with LSU football in 2016

ATHENS -- A little more than 10 years ago, my father and brother attended the 2005 Peach Bowl in Atlanta as neutral observers to see LSU and Miami take on each other. One thing in particular stood out to them as they sat on the LSU side, and it had nothing to do with the actual game itself since the Tigers waxed the Hurricanes 40-3.

A lifelong LSU fan sparked a conversation with them, which initially worried my father as to whether he was in for four hours of constant chatter while trying to take in a football game. But during the course of the game, the fan's words resonated with him.

The state of Louisiana was reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which hit only months before this postseason game. Trust was at an all-time low with Louisiana's local politicians due to how everything was handled in the affected areas. The state's residents were not too pleased with the national response either.

But the fact that the state's elected leaders were letting this man down was no surprise as he told my father that Louisiana politics had long been overrun with corruption. Not a whole lot was going great in the state except for one constant: LSU football.

It was everything to this man. It was the lone thing he could rely on, much like any sports fan when times get tough. Sports, for whatever reason, serve as a great escape for those who are going through any kind of rough stretch or tribulation.

My father's encounter with this fan was the first thing I thought of when I read about Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards' threat Thursday that LSU's football program could be on hiatus in 2016. This is due to the fact that Edwards and his colleagues -- past and present -- have been unable to balance a budget which is facing a $940 million deficit. The Democrat leader, who was elected in November, claims that along with Louisiana students' ability to attend college, LSU's football team -- as well as Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana-Lafayette and other public universities -- will go by the wayside if his proposals aren't implemented.

"If you are a student attending one of these universities, it means that you will receive a grade of incomplete, many students will not be able to graduate, and student-athletes across the state at those schools will be ineligible to play next semester," Edwards said, via the The Times-Picayune. "That means you can say farewell to college football next fall."

What this truly appears to be is an empty threat from yet another classless politician. Georgia has seen its share of moronic politicians jump into the world of sports -- whether it's in regard to public universities or matters of private business. The most recent our state has seen was when Cobb County agreed to help finance the new Atlanta Braves stadium, fleecing the taxpaying citizens in the process.

Without a new tax hike on residents, Cobb County pulled a fast one to force citizens' existing tax dollars to help pay for the ballpark without a referendum. Yes, the Braves provide that same escape from reality for Georgia as LSU football does for Louisiana. But for those concerned about the move, this escape is reality for those who live where the new stadium will be constructed.

Sports and politics rarely mix, and these are two examples of it. Political discourse usually involves egomaniacal people screaming at each other, with the rest of us forced to choose which lesser of evil to vote for. Sports are entertainment for those who attend games, purchase memorabilia and watch them on television. The games allow people to momentarily forget the problems they're dealing with in their day-to-day lives.

With how popular sports are to people, it's no surprise politicians choose to get involved. Whether it's trying to lure a professional sports team in a power move or to threaten a season's cancellation in a scare tactic, we should all take notice and vote harder at the polls.

Edwards should sit down and shut up about LSU football, an entity overseen by an athletics department that has donated $7.2 million plus other funds yearly to the university in a revenue sharing program approved in 2012. LSU's athletics department has done plenty to help.

The Louisiana legislature and government are at fault for mismanaging the people's money. And Edwards is hoping to approve his plan for a tax increase by threatening to hold a football program -- which draws more than 102,000 fans per home game -- hostage for his own political gain.

We all know LSU football will play in 2016. Edwards made an empty threat for political purposes. He's only the latest politician to enter the sports arena to stir up support, in hopes people will join his side in fear of losing their beloved football program. I suppose a threat that won't occur isn't as bad as Cobb County moving tax dollars to help construct a stadium without the people having a say in the matter.

Still, it's a shame people like Edwards are elected to office.

Much like what my father's short-term friend told him at the Peach Bowl, there still doesn't seem to be anyone outside of LSU football who they can trust in Louisiana.

-- Contact Jason Butt at jbutt@macon.com

This story was originally published February 14, 2016 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Jason Butt: Louisiana governor offers empty threat with LSU football in 2016 ."