South Carolina’s arena DJ suspended 1 game for playing song by Flau’Jae Johnson’s late father

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina athletic department announced Sunday that the women’s basketball team’s arena DJ has been suspended for one game for the choice of music played at the end of the Gamecocks’ win over LSU on Friday.

The DJ, who goes by the stage name DJ T.O., played the song “Cut Friends” by Camouflage. The artist, whose real name was Jason Johnson, was the father of LSU player Flau’Jae Johnson. He was murdered in 2003, about six months before Flau’Jae was born.

No. 2 South Carolina beat No. 5 LSU 66-56 on Friday night for the Tigers’ first loss.

Flau’jae Johnson posted on X a picture from the DJ’s Instagram account that referenced the song. She added the message, “I’ll take my L on the chin, but this just nasty behavior. Nun funny bout that”

The South Carolina athletic department wrote on X that the DJ’s actions were disrespectful to the LSU program and fans and that conference rivalries and passionate fan bases should enhance sports and not be used to target individual players.

“We regret that it came to that in our venue after a game that saw both teams capture the level of national attention that women’s basketball has earned, and we apologize to Flau’Jae, her family and LSU,” the athletic department said.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.