Colorado was fined $50,000 for inappropriate chants from its crowd at Folsom Field during the Buffaloes’ loss to No. 23 BYU on Saturday night, the Big 12 announced Tuesday.
Sunday night, Colorado issued a statement condemning “the use of expletives and religious slurs by individuals in the standings during the 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,” Colorado athletic director Rick George and chancellor Justin Schwartz said in a statement.
“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 responsible.”
At the end of his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Colorado coach Deion Sanders said he wanted to make sure to apologize to BYU for what happened.
“Let me mention this — and Rick may not want me to mention this — I know there was an incident at the conclusion of the game … on behalf of CU, on behalf of our athletic department, we would like to apologize to our opponents from a week ago for whatever derogatory statements were made by our fans,” Sanders said. “That’s not indicative of who we are. Our student body, our kids are phenomenal. So don’t indict us just based on a group of young kids that probably was intoxicated and high simultaneously. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that as well. But the truth gonna make you free. But BYU, we love you. We appreciate you. And we support you.”
The Big 12 issued Colorado a public reprimand in addition to the fine.
“Hateful and discriminatory language has no home in the Big 12 Conference,” league commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement. “While we appreciate Colorado apologizing for the chants that occurred in the stands during Saturday’s game, the Big 12 maintains zero tolerance for such behavior. Colorado will receive a $50,000 fine in accordance with our conference policies.”
BYU won the game 24-21 after Colorado took an early 14-0 lead. The Cougars took their first lead with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter and scored the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
