BYU basketball's Kevin Young slams 'unwarranted' anti-Mormon chants

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BYU basketball's Kevin Young slams 'unwarranted' anti-Mormon chants

BYU coach Kevin Young is tired of the offensive chants directed toward his religion during college basketball games.

He expressed his frustration after the Cougars’ 99-92 loss to Oklahoma State on Feb. 4, saying he wished the Cowboys fans had won with class.

“There were some ‘F The Mormons’ chants tonight by the student section that I heard,” Young said after the game. “It was a great win for Oklahoma State University. I think their fans should be proud, but it would be great if some class was warranted.

“I got four small kids at home. I’m a Mormon, and when I go home, they’re going to ask me about it, the same way they asked me about it last year at Arizona.”

Young added, “There’s too much hate in the world to be saying stuff like that. We’ve got enough problems in our world without going after people’s religion and beliefs. … This stuff is unwarranted … And it’s just disappointing.”

Big 12 issues statement on chants at BYU-Oklahoma State game

The Big 12 “is aware of and is investigating reports of inappropriate chants,” the conference said in a statement on Feb. 5.

It added: “The conference has zero tolerance for behavior of this nature and will address the matter in accordance with Big 12 sportsmanship policies.”

BYU’s loss to Oklahoma was the team’s third straight loss.

Offensive chants not new for BYU

It isn’t the first time BYU has been the victim of anti-Mormon chants.

Last season, Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois issued an apology for fans yelling an anti-Mormon chant towards BYU following Arizona basketball’s 96-95 loss at the McKale Center.

BYU is affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“Following tonight’s men’s basketball game, it was brought to our attention that an unacceptable chant occurred. On behalf of the University of Arizona Athletic Department, we apologize to BYU, their student-athletes, coaches and fans. The chant is not reflective of who we are and should not have happened,” Reed-Francois said in a statement.

In September, Colorado football was fined $50,000 for inappropriate fan chants during its 24-21 loss to BYU in Boulder, Colorado.

In a statement, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said, “Hateful and discriminatory language has no home in the Big 12 Conference. While we appreciate Colorado apologizing for the chants that occurred in the stands during the game, the Big 12 maintains zero tolerance for such behavior. Colorado will receive a $50,000 fine in accordance with our Conference policies.”

Colorado issued an apology for the chants.

In November, Cincinnati football fans also chanted offensive remarks at BYU during the Bearcats’ 26-14 loss to the Cougars.

Cincinnati also apologized for the incident.

The BYU football program received apologies from USC in 2021 and Oregon in 2022 for similar offensive chants by students during games, and the BYU basketball team also received an apology from Providence College for derogatory chants from students in a game last season.

BYU basketball coach Kevin Young is tired of offensive chants at Cougars basketball games.

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: BYU coach Kevin Young slams anti-Mormon chants at Oklahoma State game

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