LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva Apologizes Over “Painted Posse” Controversy

The "Painted Posse" controversy has drawn an apology and a pledge from LSU.

Athletic Director Joe Alleva apologized Wednesday for the decision to edit Christian crosses painted on a group of LSU students out of a recent promotional photo the university sent out.

The altered photo of the "Painted Posse," sent out after LSU's victory over South Carolina, made national headlines and has drawn widespread criticism for the school. Each of the four young men in the photo had his body painted yellow, with a purple cross painted near the left shoulder. The crosses were edited out of the photo LSU distributed.

Alleva said the university would not attempt to edit photos in a similar fashion in the future.