USC Apologizes for Offensive Chant During Football Game Against BYU
The USC Trojans have issued an apology to BYU for an offensive chant that was made from the student section during Saturday's game. According to TMZ Sports, the USC student's section began chanting "F— the Mormons" as BYU defeated USC 35-31. It's not clear when exactly the chanting started, and there has no video of the incident to surface as of this writing.
"The offensive chant from our student section directed towards BYU during the football game last night does not align with our Trojan values," USC wrote on Twitter. "It was distasteful and we apologize to the BYU program. Based on the final score, BYU was not fazed by the chant and finished the regular season with a 10-2 record. The Cougars will not wait and see which bowl game they will be playing with the announcement coming on Sunday.
As for the Trojans, they currently are 4-7 and have one more game remaining before their season comes to an end. However, the team did receive some good news on Sunday as they officially named Lincoln Riley as their new head coach. Riley spent five seasons as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners and replaces Clay Helton who was fired in September.
"I am truly excited to come to USC and join the Trojan Family as its new head football coach," Riley said in a press release. "USC has an unparalleled football tradition with tremendous resources and facilities, and the administration has made a deep commitment to winning. I look forward to honoring that successful tradition and building on it. The pieces are in place for us to build the program back to where it should be and the fans expect it to be. We will work hard to develop a physical football team that is dominant on both lines of scrimmage, and has a dynamic balanced offense and a stout aggressive defense."
"We are ecstatic to announce Lincoln Riley as our new head coach and welcome his wife Caitlin and their daughters Sloan and Stella to the Trojan Family," USC athletic director Mike Bohn said. "Lincoln is the rarest combination of extraordinary person and elite football coach. His successes and offensive accolades as a head coach the past five years are astonishing. Lincoln will recruit relentlessly, develop his players on and off the field, and implement a strong culture in which the program will operate with the highest level of integrity and professionalism."