Fournette, Beckham Jr. respond to viral Alabama Banner

TUSCALOOSA - The University of Alabama released a statement Saturday regarding the viral photo that showed Alabama fans displaying a banner that said, "Finish what Katrina Started."

UA's Vice President of Student Affairs, David Grady, took to Twitter Saturday afternoon to ask the people of Tuscaloosa to welcome visitors with respect and good sportsmanship.

Grady's statements also echoed a Friday statement by the university saying that the banner's message does not represent UA, the students or the football team.

LSU running back Leonard Fournette, who experienced the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina first hand in New Orleans, responded to the image on Twitter Friday:

Inspire us to go harder love my savages....... — 7? (@_fournette) November 6, 2015

Former LSU Tiger wide receiver and current New York Giant Odell Beckham Jr. also responded to the image on social media. Beckham posted an image of Fournette on Instagram with the caption, "Katrina never broke us, it made us savages."

Katrina never broke us, it made us savages... @_fournette7 #4ThaCity #Follow A photo posted by Odell Beckham Jr (@iam_objxiii) on Nov 7, 2015 at 10:41am PST

Fournette told News Two earlier this year, he was ten years old when he spent four nights and five days living on an I-10 overpass after the category 3 hurricane caused levee failures that flooded New Orleans.

The city of New Orleans marked the 10 anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in August.

According to the university, the banner was hung at an off-campus apartment complex and was removed. In a second tweet on Friday, the university's official twitter account said that UA was appalled that anyone would display a banner with such an inappropriate message.

LSU is not unfamiliar with controversial banners being hung during football games. Last September the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity at LSU made national headlines after hanging a banner during a home football game that mocked openly gay NFL football player Michael Sam.

The DKE fraternity later apologized for the banner and in a letter to LSU President F. King Alexander said that they would refrain from posting similar banners in the future.