Oregon coach Dan Lanning apologized for the incident at the BYU-Oregon game last Saturday at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, where fans directed a chant at members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Before we really start talking about Washington State, I do want to address something that happened in our game this past weekend with BYU,” Lanning said during his Monday press conference. “Obviously, like many of you, I was really frustrated and disgusted to hear the things that were said during the game.
“I got the opportunity to reach out to (BYU) coach Kalani (Sitake), I know our athletic director, Rob (Mullens) got to reach out to Tom (Holmoe), their AD at BYU, and express our frustration and also apologize for the behavior of a few that really puts a cloud over a great group and a really fun situation for our players and our fans on Saturday. So that being said, there’s no room for that in our stadium, and anybody who’s going to partake in that doesn’t need to be in our stadium.”
Mullens went on the Oregon radio show “Duck Insider” on Monday, according to KVAL 13, and said, “Unfortunately a few individuals decided to chant some offensive remarks. That is not who we are. That is not what we stand for.”
The incident has sparked apologies from both schools, as well as from the governors of both Utah and Oregon, denouncing the actions of those involved.
Latter-day Saint college football recruit TC Manumaleuna II of Salem, Oregon, also said he left the BYU-Oregon game early as a result of the chant incident.