EUGENE, Oregon — An offensive chant emanating from Oregon fans in the second half of the Ducks’ 41-20 win over BYU on Saturday at Autzen Stadium drew a rebuke on Twitter from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.
The derogatory chant, which targeted members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are commonly referred to as Mormons, was similar to what USC fans chanted at BYU last November. Video of Oregon fans’ behavior circulated on Twitter shortly after the game ended.
“Religious bigotry alive and celebrated in Oregon,” Cox said in a tweet Saturday.
Messages to an Oregon athletics department spokesperson seeking comment had not been returned as of 8 p.m. MDT Saturday night.
Saturday’s game kicked off at 1:30 p.m. MDT and was televised nationally by Fox Sports. It was not clear whether the chants were audible on the television broadcast.
Last November, after BYU defeated Southern California 35-31 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, USC’s athletic department issued a public apology the following day via Twitter for “an offensive chant” it says came from its student cheering section.
The chants were clearly heard several times that night on ESPN’s national broadcast of the game.