University of Oregon apologizes for “offensive” chant during BYU game
The University of Oregon has issued an apology after footage of an explicit anti-Mormon chant during a football game Saturday against Brigham Young University went viral. Oregon faced BYU at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.
The clip led to outrage from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who condemned the chant in a retweet of the video that claimed: “Religious bigotry alive and celebrated in Oregon.”
BYU is private university in Utah sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are known as Mormons.
On Sunday, the University of Oregon apologized for the incident, saying the chant went against “everything the university stands for.”
“The University of Oregon sincerely apologizes for an offensive and disgraceful chant coming from the student section during yesterday’s game against Brigham Young University,” the university said in a statement on Twitter. “These types of actions go against everything the university stands for, and it goes against the spirit of competition. We can and will do better as a campus community that has no place for hate, bias or bigotry.”
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown retweeted the University’s statement and added that the chant was “unacceptable.”
“In Oregon, we strive to be a welcoming, inclusive state to all, regardless of race, religion, gender, or background,” she tweeted. “Our state and nation have an ugly history of discrimination and bigotry. The chant at yesterday’s Oregon-BYU game was unacceptable. We must do better.”
The Oregon Ducks defeated the BYU Cougars 41-20.
