Big 12 fines Colorado $50,000 for discriminatory BYU chants

The Big 12 Conference on Tuesday fined the University of Colorado $50,000 and issued a reprimand after fans at Saturday’s game at Folsom Field chanted expletives and religious slurs aimed at Brigham Young University, which beat Colorado 24-21. Conference officials said the chants targeted members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark called the language “hateful and discriminatory” and said it has no place in the league.

Colorado’s chancellor, Justin Schwartz, and athletic director, Rick George, issued a statement condemning the chants as inconsistent with the university’s values of respect, inclusion and integrity and saying the school enforces a Fan Code of Conduct. The university said it holds individuals who violate those standards accountable. Colorado head coach Deion Sanders apologized publicly to BYU at his Tuesday news conference, saying the behavior “is not indicative of who we are” and adding, “BYU, we love you, we appreciate you and we support you.” Sanders also said the incident involved a small group of students and made comments about their state that he later acknowledged might have been ill-advised.