CU Boulder Condemns Anti-Mormon Chant at BYU Game

By Micah Smith | Denver7

According to community members who attended the Colorado vs. BYU football game, several students chanted “f*** the Mormons”

BOULDER, Colo. – On Sunday, the University of Colorado Boulder chancellor and athletic director released a joint statement condemning a student chant that targeted Mormons during CU Boulder’s football game against Brigham Young University (BYU).

According to community members who attended the game, several students chanted “F*** the Mormons” and said other hateful statements throughout the game.

In their statement, Chancellor Justin Schwartz and Athletic Director Rick George said:

The University of Colorado Boulder strongly condemns the use of expletives and religious slurs by individuals in the stands during the recent football game against BYU. Such behavior is deeply disappointing and does not reflect the values of respect, inclusion and integrity we expect of our campus community.

Attending sporting events at CU Boulder is a privilege, and with that comes the responsibility to uphold our Fan Code of Conduct. The university and CU Athletics have a strict policy when it comes to abusive behavior, and those found to have engaged in conduct that is not consistent with our values are held accountable.

CU Boulder is committed to fostering an environment where all individuals—students, staff, faculty, alumni, opposing fans and other visitors—feel welcome and safe. Discriminatory language and hostile conduct have no place at our athletic events or anywhere on our campus.

We thank the majority of our fans who continue to support our teams with enthusiasm and respect. Together, we can ensure that CU Boulder events remain a source of pride and unity for our community and that visitors to our campus have a positive experience.

According to a University of California, Berkeley report, incidents of hate speech especially online are increasing across the United States,

“We’re seeing this heightened rhetoric, and we have a lot of tough issues facing our country, and that brings out a lot of emotion. And I think that how that emotion is articulated and how we cheer, how we choose to share what we’re thinking and think before we speak, maybe would go a long way, because the more we normalize hateful rhetoric, it just becomes part of what our society is, and it’s damaging, as we saw this past weekend,” Susan Rona, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League Mountain States said.

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