Colorado State apologized Saturday after derogatory chants were directed at BYU fans and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the Rams’ game against the No. 11 Cougars at Canvas Stadium.
The chants were heard in the pregame and included “F- the Mormons.” Before the game ended, Colorado State sent a statement to members of the media in the press box addressing what happened.
“Colorado State University apologizes to BYU, its student-athletes and fans, and to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the chant directed at them during Saturday’s game.
“Mocking anyone’s faith has no place at CSU. It runs counter to our community’s values and to who we are.
BYU’s players, coaches, and fans deserved better. We are addressing this with our students.”
The apology marked another ugly chapter in a recurring pattern for BYU visits to Colorado. Last season, the University of Colorado apologized after similar chants were directed at BYU and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Colorado State now joins Colorado and Cincinnati from last football season as schools that faced the same issue.
Saturday was the first time BYU and Colorado State had met in 16 years, a matchup that renewed an old conference connection from the WAC and Mountain West days.
After the game, BYU coach Kalani Sitake was asked what can be done to keep incidents like this from happening again.
“Listen, everyone’s human. I’m not going to dwell on that.
I know amazing people that are Colorado State fans and alumni, and I’m just going to focus on the beautiful people that are positive,” Sitake said. “You can’t judge the entire fan base on a few.
That’s what we’re going to be focused on. The environment here was awesome, and yeah, the fans are excited about their team.
So, other than that, I’m not too worried about it.”
BYU and Colorado State are scheduled to meet again in 2029 in Provo, where the Rams will finish the home-and-home series.
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