It’s not unusual for sports teams to enter an arena to pumped-up music that gets the players and the crowd going.
You know, like “Eye of the Tiger.” Or “Get Ready For This.” Or pretty much anything by AC/DC.
But a political speech?
The Adelphi University men’s lacrosse team raised eyebrows — and won new fans — when they took the field for a recent game accompanied by a remixed speech by Donald Trump.
A video of their entrance was posted by Barstool Sports to Instagram, where it has been viewed more than 900,000 times. It shows the Panthers of Adelphi, a private university in suburban New York, running onto the field waving American flags as the Trump speech is broadcast over the speakers.
“In all of our cities and in all of our towns, I make this promise: We will make America strong again,” says Trump in the speech, which is set to electronic music. “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 Trump speech choice has received mixed reactions on social media. Some felt it was inappropriate, while others praised it as patriotic.
An Adelphi sports administrator said the remixed speech does not violate any campus policies 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,” said Danny McCabe, Adelphi’s Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation, in a statement.
“The songs they proposed and used this season meet those guidelines,” McCabe added. “As such, we are obliged to follow the policy.”
Adelphi is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II men’s lacrosse tournament, which starts Saturday. A university spokeswoman told Newsday that the Trump speech won’t be played during the tournament because NCAA rules state the host team must provide “neutral music.”