DENVER — The Big 12 Conference on Tuesday slapped the University of Colorado Boulder with a $50,000 fine and a “public reprimand” after several Colorado students were heard chanting religious slurs during Saturday’s football game against BYU.
CU Boulder students who were at the game over the weekend told Denver7 that several of their peers chanted the phrase "F—k the Mormons" along with other hateful statements during the Sept. 27 game against the BYU Cougars.
A day later, CU’s chancellor and the university’s athletic director released a joint statement condemning the chant, calling the behavior “deeply disappointing.”
But on Tuesday, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said that while he appreciated the apology from CU Boulder officials, the Conference “maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.”
“Hateful and discriminatory language has no home in the Big 12 Conference,” Yormark said in a short statement.
A University of California, Berkeley report shows incidents of hate speech — especially online — are increasing across the United States.
“The future implications, I think, are real... is this really what we want civil discourse to look like in our country? Does this feel good? And I don't think it feels good to people, and I hope that it's a call, a shout out to people, to reach out to members of the LDS church,” Susan Rona, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League Mountain States, told Denver7 Monday.
During a news conference later Tuesday, Coach Prime addressed the inappropriate conduct in front of reporters by once again apologizing to BYU.
The derogatory slurs hurled toward the Cougars on Saturday are "not indicative of who we are, our student body. Our kids are phenomenal, so don't indict us just based on a group of young kids that probably was intoxicated and high simultaneously," the Buffs coach said. "BYU, we love you. We appreciate you, and we support you."
CU Boulder officials said those found to have engaged in the conduct would be held accountable.
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