Kansas State president speaks out against basketball fans' "vulgar chant"
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- The president of Kansas State has asked Wildcat basketball fans to stop using vulgar chants targeted at the Kansas Jayhawks when the rivals meet in Bramlage Coliseum.
The Wichita Eagle reported that Kansas State President Richard Myers spoke out against the chants Wednesday in a letter to the public posted on the university’s website. He described the chants as “personally embarrassing.”
“It’s easy to see how one can get caught up in the moment,” Myers wrote in the Feb. 15 post. “However, many of my friends across the nation reached out to me following last week’s men’s basketball game and expressed their dismay. The chant was clearly heard from coast to coast on national television. It was personally embarrassing and not what one expects from a world-class university.”
Kansas State students chanted an expletive followed by “KU” in a variety of songs when the Jayhawks visited Manhattan, Kansas, on Feb. 6. KU pulled away late in the game, winning 74-71.
Video posted on YouTube appears to capture fans in the stands chanting, “F*** KU.”
The university has tried in the past to address the chant by promoting sportsmanship and eliminating some songs from the arena’s playlist.