Following the anti-Latter-day Saint chants that erupted at the McKale Center in Tucson last weekend, the Big 12 Conference held discussions with both Arizona and BYU regarding an appropriate response.
On the ESPN broadcast after Arizona’s loss, fans were heard chanting, “F— the Mormons.” While this chant has been directed at BYU during various games in recent years, it marked the first occurrence in a conference setting.
“The chants during Saturday’s game between BYU and Arizona were offensive and inappropriate. The conference spoke with both schools about the incident after the game,” stated the Big 12 Conference in a release to The Salt Lake Tribune.
“Arizona promptly issued a professional apology and acknowledged the unacceptable nature of the chant,” the statement added.
When asked if the conference has discussed future policies or penalties for instances where such chants occur, a conference spokesperson did not provide a definitive answer. The Big 12 also did not clarify whether this topic had been covered in previous league meetings.
“The Big 12 remains committed to collaborating with all 16 institutions to foster a safe environment for student-athletes throughout our conference, both at home and away,” the statement said.
Arizona basketball coach Tommy Lloyd condemned the situation on Tuesday, expressing his disappointment in how some fans reacted to BYU players during the game.
“I’ve competed against BYU for years and truly enjoy it. My biggest disappointment was the way our fans and students responded. There’s no place for that in society, especially in collegiate athletics, where a person’s religion or race should never be a target,” he stated.
Lloyd expressed hope that this would serve as a learning opportunity for Arizona fans. “I know it’s not the first time this has happened to them, and it’s disheartening that it continues. As full-time members of a conference with BYU, I hope our fans will understand that this behavior is unacceptable. … Let’s use this as a chance to improve.”
He added, “Let’s learn from this and move forward. Every individual deserves respect, and the behavior at the end of that game clearly did not reflect that.”
Jake Retzlaff, BYU’s first Jewish starting quarterback, also addressed the issue. “It’s unbelievable that an entire arena thinks this is acceptable,” he posted on social media. “We need to raise our voices against this. It can’t become normalized!”
In recent weeks, religious scholars and Latter-day Saint athletes have suggested various solutions to curtail this troubling trend, including measures such as removing fans from games and imposing fines on the institutions involved.
For instance, FIFA recently fined the Mexican Football Federation $ 114,000 for fans shouting anti-LGBTQ slurs at opposing goalkeepers.
“There isn’t a perfect solution, and we don’t want to respond in kind,” said former Utah football star Britain Covey, who is a Latter-day Saint, in an interview with The Tribune. “However, seeing kids exposed to these chants would motivate some to act, as nobody wants their children to hear this. The most effective approach is having personal conversations to explain why such behavior is offensive. If the church can share meaningful examples of why this is not acceptable and allow those messages to spread, it may have a more significant impact than punitive actions.”
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