The son of Lafayette-area judge Michelle Odinet has been pulled from the LSU track team following backlash about his family.
Odinet was captured on film calling a Black burglar the N-word and roach while reviewing surveillance footage with her family. She has since taken an unpaid leave and blames the incident for taking a sedative that night. The judge previously claimed that she was emotionally distraught despite laughing and joking in the video.
Odinet reportedly had three children on the LSU track team. However, only her son, Elijah, had been removed from the track team for allegedly encouraging his mother’s racist behavior. It is unknown if the other two will leave the team.
Retired Opelousas City Judge Vanessa Harris will serve as judge pro tempore of Division A, Lafayette City Court, as Odinet continues her leave. She has previously refused to resign, despite outrage from the local NAACP chapter and community members. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has also said that Odinet should quit permanently and hopes that this “period of reflection” will lead her to do so.
Odinet was excluded from the state Supreme Court on Friday, thus barring her from performing any judicial functions.
