Colorado State University is apologizing after some of its student spectators directed a pro-Russia chant at a Ukrainian student-athlete on the opposing team at a Saturday night basketball game.
Officials said in a tweet they learned after the game “that a small group of individuals in our student section chanted ‘Russia’ at a student-athlete from Utah State, who is from Ukraine.”
“On behalf of Colorado State, we apologize to the student-athlete and Utah State,” the school said in a follow-up tweet.
“Every participant, student, and fan should feel welcomed in our venues, and for something like this to have occurred is unacceptable at Colorado State,” the tweet thread concluded.
Representatives for Colorado State did not immediately respond to an inquiry about whether the students who participated in the chant had been identified or disciplined.
While the university didn’t name the student who was targeted, NBC affiliate KSL of Salt Lake City reported that Utah State junior guard Max Shulga was the target of the chant, which occurred while he was attempting free throws near the end of the game.
Shulga was born in Ukraine’s capital of Kiev and attended high school in Spain, according to his official biography.
KSL reported last year that Shulga’s family still resides in Kiev, and that he draped a Ukrainian flag over himself at the start of the first game following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Utah State students also held up yellow and blue papers, resembling the Ukrainian flag, at that game to show their support for Shulga.
The year-long war has led to the deaths of thousands of civilians and soldiers, as well as Russian troops committing sexual violence and torture against women and children in Ukraine, as well as other war crimes, according to a United Nations investigation.
Representatives for Utah State did not immediately respond to emailed questions about the incident.
The Utah Aggies won the Saturday night game against the Colorado Rams 88-79.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
