Providence athletic director Steven Napalillo this week apologized to the BYU men's basketball team for “unacceptable chants” during Tuesday night’s game at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I.
Napolillo made the apology in a post on X, apologizing to "@BYUMBB, their coaches & institution for unacceptable chants by our student body tonight. Once it was brought to my attention, I went to the student body & had them stop. That does not represent who Providence College is & what we stand for. We are sorry."
According to Yahoo Sports, a video posted to X indicated that the profane chants were directed toward members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is the sponsoring institution of BYU.
Providence is not the first school to apologize for derisive chants aimed at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Yahoo Sports notes that in 2021, the USC athletic department publicly apologized for “an offensive chant” from the student section during a football game won by BYU in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The next year, University of Oregon officials apologized for “despicable chants” aimed at BYU fans and the Latter-day Saint faith during a 41-20 win over the Cougars at Autzen Stadium.
