On Sunday, University of Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois was forced to issue an apology for an anti-Mormon chant from the student section after their team was beaten by BYU 96-65.
Arizona fans chanted “F*** the Mormons” at the basketball game tonight.
BYU beat Arizona 96-95pic.twitter.com/RForpflcr3
— The Cougar Chronicle (@TheCougChron) February 23, 2025
The video clearly shows the chant coming primarily from the University of Arizona’s home court student section, leaving critics to raise concerns about the growing bigotry against the faithful on U.S. campuses.
“The incident happened postgame following a brief handshake line brawl between the Wildcats and Cougars, when Arizona fans shouted a derogatory statement — which consisted of an expletive followed by “Mormons” — toward BYU players as they left the court,” according to the Arizona Republic.
Statement from Vice President and Director of Athletics, Desireé Reed-Francois:
Following tonight’s men’s basketball game, it was brought to our attention that an unacceptable chant occurred.
On behalf of the University of Arizona Athletic Department, we apologize to BYU, their student-athletes, coaches and fans. The chant is not reflective of who we are and should not have happened.
Critics say not so fast; it is reflective of the anti-faith bias found on taxpayer-funded campuses across the country.
Arizona State University philosophy professor Dr. Owen Anderson asked in the Arizona Daily Independent in 2023 “Can an Evangelical be a Scholar at ASU West?”
According to Anderson, his colleagues showed a clear anti-religious bias. “A public university needs to remain politically and ideologically neutral. That includes not allowing its faculty members to use ASU resources to push personal political opinions. And yet here in my school, during a faculty meeting, a colleague said of GCU (Grand Canyon University) professors, “they aren’t scholars, they are Evangelicals.” I was stunned since I am an Evangelical and a scholar. This colleague insulted an entire religion. They knew the bias of the faculty meeting meant they would not be held to account in any way.”
The bias doesn’t end with faculty or students.
GCU, a private Christian university, came under attack repeatedly during the Biden administration.
Despite GCU’s nonprofit approvals from the State of Arizona, the Internal Revenue Service, the Arizona Board for Private Postsecondary Education and the Higher Learning Commission, the Biden administration’s Department of Education refused to recognize the University’s lawful nonprofit status going back to 2019.
Finally in November 2024 after years of harassment, in a 3-0 decision, the Ninth Circuit held that the Department of Education exceeded the authority granted to it under the Higher Education Act in its unprecedented decision against GCU.