The solution to BYU-targeted anthems starts with the Big 12 schools and extends to the conference office.
BYU’s challenges are mounting, and so are the losses. The Cougars have dropped four of their last six points and needed overtime to fend off Colorado. Top scorer Richie Saunders suffered an undisclosed injury on Saturday afternoon. The defense is too soft for comfort, especially in March, and the bench is a constant liability. Meanwhile, their NCAA Tournament seed enters a precarious position to survive the first round.
But BYU’s biggest concern is the Big 12’s most pressing problem: repeated instances of hate chants against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that have filled both football stadiums and football stadiums over the past 51 weeks.
Let’s talk about that here and now, not the court issues, because the Cougars just experienced racism and returned to the scene of hate speech in a few days.
Last week, Oklahoma State fans chanted “(insulting) Mormons” during a win over the Cougars, prompting the Big 12 to fine the university $50,000.
“I got four young kids at home,” BYU coach Kevin Young said. “I’m a Mormon, and when I go home, they’re going to ask me about it, the same way they asked me last year in Arizona.”
On Wednesday, the Cougars returned to Tucson, where the same slur was heard at the McKale Center at the end of BYU’s one-point victory last February.
Similar chants were directed at the Cougars football team in Cincinnati and Colorado for the 2025 season.
That makes four out of 15 campuses — and actually four out of 14, because Utah’s campuses have close ties to BYU and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
To be clear: It’s not the whole crowd or the majority of the home fans. It’s the students.
“What we’re trying to do is put an end to unacceptable behavior and the apology that comes after,” BYU athletic director Brian Santiago told The Associated Press following the incident at Oklahoma State.
Every time, the school in charge issues an apology. On at least two occasions, with Colorado and Oklahoma State, the Big 12 has issued fines of $50,000.
More likely, second offenses will be met with stiffer penalties.
It is a bad situation that reflects badly on the entire conference, even the campuses where the students did not behave in the same way. (And it’s nothing new at BYU, which has faced racism in controversial areas for decades.)
The Hotline has a few thoughts, but they all start with this: There’s only so much the Big 12 front office can do. Schools empower commissioner Brett Yormark and his staff on all fronts, including disciplinary action, public reprimands and monetary penalties.
Raising the fines for first-time offenders to $100,000 or even $250,000 only works if schools agree. Will they accept more expensive sanctions knowing that the hate speech is coming from the dispersal of (probably drunk) students? Maybe … or maybe not.
Eradication begins with education at the local level, on the front lines of apartheid.
Arizona athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois and football coach Brent Brennan issued separate messages to fans and students before the Cougars visited in October — Brennan asked fans to be “respectful” — and no problems were reported during or after the game.
In our view, that is a potential model for all schools. Why not provide a pre-recorded message in the stadium or on the stadium video board reminding fans to treat the Cougars with respect?
If that doesn’t work, officials have to take matters into their own hands. After all, they have the authority to assess penalties for unruly mob behavior.
In August, Big 12 athletic directors reportedly voted 15-1 to penalize home teams 15 yards if objects are thrown on the field (after warnings). The dissenting vote came from Texas Tech, where fans used to throw tortillas.
(The option for officials to penalize home teams was in the Big 12’s playbook but was strengthened as a crown control tool in a vote in August.)
That approach should be used by officials for anti-Mormon chants — for any hate speech, really — during competition.
Host schools may post a message on the video board prior to the start of games or a bulletin stating that any offensive chants are unacceptable and will result in disciplinary action.
Maybe a 15-yard penalty against the home team on the first offense and 20 yards on the second.
Maybe two free throws and a layup for the Cougars in the first offense and three in the second.
The details are easy enough to determine – but only if schools are encouraged to empower the congressional office to authorize officials to impose reasonable fines on a growing scale.
It is a circular process: from campus administrators to conference administrators to campus sports administrators.
Our hunch – perhaps more than a hunch – is that pre-game reminders from the athletic director or head coach broadcast on the video board, coupled with the threat of a mid-game penalty, will suffice.
But that might be giving stupid readers who engage in hate speech too much credit.
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