An arrest has been made in connection to an incident that occurred at the end of BYU’s 22-21 win over Utah at Rice Eccles Stadium this past Saturday night.
According to Deseret News, University of Utah Police arrested 18-year-old William Gardner on “a charge of assault, a Class A misdemeanor.”
Gardner, who does not attend the University of Utah, is charged with “throwing a water bottle onto the field at Rice-Eccles Stadium that struck a member of the BYU cheerleading team during the Utah-BYU football game Nov. 9,” according to police.
Deseret News also obtained video of the incident, in which BYU cheer coach Jocelyn Allan can be seen being struck in the head by a water bottle while on the sidelines.
Allan, a member of the BYU Cheer Squad (1997-2001) and BYU head cheer coach since 2010, shared her perspective of what happened in an Instagram post after the game.
“At the conclusion of tonight’s BYU/Utah game, a Utah fan in the table seats in the south endzone threw a water bottle and hit me directly in the head,” Allan wrote. “I lost consciousness but thankfully was lowered to the ground by one of my cheerleaders. Police are going over video footage to identify the seats that it came from (we have a pretty good idea). If you saw the incident, or have any info on the family who owns that particular box, please contact me. Thank you!”
There were several controversial happenings after the conclusion of this heated rivalry, as we also saw Utah Athletic Director Mark Harlan and head coach Kyle Whittingham share their frustrations with how the game concluded.
The sixth-ranked BYU Cougars will host Kansas this weekend with hopes of moving to 10-0 on the season, while Utah will be on the road facing No. 17 Colorado (7-2).
