Monitoring
Although this situation may not be ongoing actively, the Racist & Bias Incident Response Team is working with appropriate departments to monitor and prevent future reoccurrence. Those who believe they have been the target of bias, intolerance or discrimination may report an incident to the public incident report form (bias and intolerance) or the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (sexual misconduct and discrimination).
Please direct any questions or concerns in regard to this bias incident to the RBIRT Manager at RBIresponse@utah.edu.
What happened
On August 31, 2023 during the Utah vs. Florida football game, it was reported through the online public reporting form that an individual was seen in the MUSS (Mighty Utah Student Section) wearing a t-shirt that read “F**k the gay-tors”.
What is being done
This incident has been reported to the Racist and Bias Incident Response Team, the Office of Alumni Relations who oversees the MUSS, University of Utah Athletics Department, and the Office of the Dean of Students. A preliminary investigation is currently being conducted in the hopes of gaining any additional and actionable information.
If, through the course of the review or investigation (by appropriate investigative body), the individual responsible is identified, and a policy violation is determined to have occurred, the Office of the Dean of Students (if confirmed to be a student), Athletics Department (if confirmed to be a season ticket holder), Human Resources (if confirmed to be an employee), or other appropriate leader, will act within university policy designed to hold the individual accountable and, if appropriate, provide additional education about the harm caused by this type of behavior.
The incident has also been shared with the student leadership of the MUSS, with an emphasis placed on all who attend athletic events at the University of Utah should be assured of a positive experience, and to utilize the resources available to report an issue when inappropriate, disrespectful or offensive behavior occurs by seeking game day authorities or text ‘FANUP’ to 69050.
If you have any information related to this incident (or others) that may help, please report it by filling out this form from the Office of the Dean of Students. Or you can report to the University of Utah Police by calling 801-585-2677 or filling out the Silent Witness form.
The U is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion
The University of Utah, the Pac-12 Conference and the NCAA promote good sportsmanship from student-athletes, coaches and spectators. We are committed to creating a welcoming and respectful environment during home athletic events and have developed standards of conduct to ensure you and those around you can safely enjoy the game. More on standards of conduct for the MUSS can be found here.
At all Utah Athletics home sporting events information is displayed on signage, and on the video board, as well as through public address reads, about the University’s commitment to promoting good sportsmanship by student-athletes, coaches and spectators. Utah Athletics’ Fan Engagement & Code of Conduct Expectations are outlined in the FanUP policies which can be found here.
The following message is read by the public address announcer at all Utah Athletics home sporting events:
The Pac-12 Conference has assigned a high priority to assuring Pac-12 athletic events are conducted in a safe and enjoyable atmosphere. Please join the University of Utah in making this event an enjoyable experience for our visitors, student-athletes and all spectators.
Profanity, racial or sexist comments, and any other acts of intimidation, directed at officials, student-athletes, coaches, visiting fans or team representatives will not be tolerated and are grounds for removal from the site of competition. Make Utah proud by being welcoming, respectful and responsible. If you see a fan behavior issue, text “Fan Up” to 69050.
What to do
Be vigilant and speak up. Stopping this type of behavior takes collective action and bystander intervention efforts are one way to combatting harmful conduct. If you see someone engaging in harmful or destructive behavior you can text ‘FANUP’ to 69050 and include a description and location of the incident and a peace officer will be there to help. To learn more about how to incorporate bystander intervention into your toolkit, check out the information here: https://wellness.utah.edu/workshops-training/#bystander