There is a fabulous Constitutional amendment in these United States — it’s actually the first one — protecting the free exercise of religion. Additionally, Colorado’s policy against hate speech states that, “it is the right of every person, regardless of (…) religion (…) to be secure and protected from fear, intimidation, harassment, and physical harm caused by the activities of individuals and groups.”
If you were in the stands of the CU student section last Saturday, you’d have thought that CU students had never heard of such things. Countless discriminating and threatening comments were hurdled towards the BYU team and their fans throughout the game.
I stood near a young man who repeatedly screamed out, “F**k Mormons!” that “Mormons should k*ll themselves!” and that, if anyone had a problem, they, “Can come hit [him] in the f**king face!” for about an hour until security, at my admitted behest and their third visit to our row, removed him. No one in the stands surrounding me seemed to care about his comments — just that I’d ratted him out for his violent speech and harassment.
So, here’s the thing: there are so many layers to critiquing the LDS church, and some critiques are incredibly valid. However, a football game isn’t the place to do it, shouting isn’t the way to do it, and threats of violence certainly aren’t going to get you anywhere. The way I saw my peers behave towards BYU fans was sickening — and it was flat-out hate speech that would not be tolerated towards other religious groups. As I exited the student section with a horde of other students disappointed in the Buffs’ loss, I looked up to a BYU fan forming a heart with her hands as boys all around me shouted at her that she’s, “In a cult!”
It was a despicable way to speak about and treat other human beings, whether you’re drunk at a football game or not (ahem, Deion). The lack of compassion from CU students was striking, humbling, and deeply troubling. How could we treat each other this way, and why did no one seem to care about the targeting of this group in particular?
An hour after the game got out, the President of the LDS Church, Russell M. Nelson, passed away at 101. LDS members who attended the game suffered a night of hate and ridicule only to drive home and learn that their leader passed away. The next morning, about 12 hours after the game, LDS churchgoers in Michigan became the victims of a deadly mass shooting and fire, the motive of which is still being investigated by the FBI, when a gunman plowed his vehicle through the church and began to open fire.
Those who participated in the hateful speech that took place at the game this past Saturday might’ve felt like it was a joke, but for LDS members, it was anything but. I don’t have to be a member to be shaken by the severity of others’ hateful words and actions towards them. Religious hate speech, regardless of what critiques you hold towards an organization or its members, is dangerous and illegal — and Mormons deserve respect just like any other religious group.
After leaving the game feeling rattled by the harassment and waking up to devastating news of the events in Michigan, it came as a relief when it was announced on Tuesday that CU Athletics has been fined by The Big 12 Conference. Commissioner Brett Yormark announced that, “Hateful and discriminatory language has no home in the Big 12 Conference (…) the Big 12 maintains zero tolerance for such behavior. Colorado will receive a $50,000 fine in accordance with our Conference policies.”
The fine is well-deserved, especially after Deion Sanders’ half-baked apology at a press conference on Tuesday, alluding to drunk and high students being the root of the problem. Even if Coach Prime is right, if drunk words are sober thoughts, CU has a serious problem on its hands — one that I’m glad they’ll have to face publicly.