Colorado State apologizes after derogatory 'Mormon' chants during BYU football game

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Colorado State University is apologizing after derogatory chants directed at members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were heard from parts of the student section during Saturday's football game against BYU.

The university stated it is addressing the incident with students and acknowledged that BYU's players, coaches and fans deserved better.

For longtime BYU fan Daniel Jensen, the chants were both disappointing and familiar.

Jensen said the derogatory chants began before kickoff and were repeated by a large number of students throughout the night.

"It wasn't isolated individuals," Jensen said. "It was a chant that many students participated in several times."

During the game, Colorado State University released a statement saying "mocking anyone's faith has no place at CSU" and apologized to BYU, its fans and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The statement went on to state, "It runs counter to our community's values and to who we are. BYU's players, coaches and fans deserve better. We are addressing this with our students."

The chants are part of a pattern that has surfaced at several BYU road games in recent years. Jensen said he has witnessed similar incidents before and believes apologies alone are not enough to stop the behavior.

"If I were to say those kinds of things at an NBA or NFL game, I would be removed from the stadium immediately," he said.

Jensen believes many students join in because they want to fit in with the crowd and face few consequences.

Spencer Linton, host of BYU Sports Nation, travels with the football team and was on the sideline in front of the CSU fans. He said religious discrimination should never be tolerated and believes stronger penalties should be considered.

"It's becoming the exception when those chants do not happen when BYU is the road team," Linton said. "Could we give (the opposing team) unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for 15 yards? Because guess what? I think that if they saw that they were hurting their team and their team's chances to win the game on their home field, I don't think they would continue that."

As of Monday, no disciplinary action or fine had been announced against Colorado State University. Last year, the Big 12 Conference fined the University of Colorado $50,000 following similar anti-"Mormon" chants directed at BYU fans.

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