The Oklahoma State Cowboys upset the No. 16 BYU Cougars on Wednesday night in Stillwater, and there were multiple chants from OSU fans of ‘F the Mormons’, an unfortunate chant that has been an issue at a handful of Big 12 games in recent years.
After the loss, BYU head coach Kevin Young was asked about the chants at Gallagher-Iba Arena, saying, “I’ve got 4 small kids at home. I’m a Mormon. When I go home, they’re gonna ask me about it. Again. There’s just too much hate in the world… Let’s use basketball to bring people together, not tear them apart.”
Here’s what it sounded like on TV during the broadcast on Wednesday night.
As for the game, Anthony Roy scored a season-high 30 points and Oklahoma State overcame a stellar performance by freshman sensation AJ Dybantsa to beat 16th-ranked BYU 99-92 on Wednesday night. For BYU, it was their third-straight loss for a Cougars team that has been struggling with losses to Arizona, Kansas and now Oklahoma State.
Big 12 Recently Fined Colorado for ‘F The Mormons’ Chants
As noted, it’s not the first time this has happened, and we will see if the Big 12 takes action, as it did against Colorado during the football season. The Big 12 has issued a public reprimand and $50,000 fine to the University of Colorado following offensive chants that took place in their September game against BYU at Folsom Field.
In a statement, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark addressed the incident directly. “Hateful and discriminatory language has no home in the Big 12 Conference,” Yormark said. “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.”
The league determined that the conduct violated its Principles and Standards of Sportsmanship, which prohibit discriminatory language of any kind.
Will will see a similar decision on Thursday by the Big 12? We’ll wait and see.
