Mark Pope shares his thoughts regarding offensive chants directed towards BYU and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (via the Hoops HQ Show)

Mark misses the point. Members of the church aren’ personally offended by this in any meaningful way. The concern is that inflammatory rhetoric contributes to an environment where individuals feel justified in committing violence, like driving a car into a church and opening fire

Very rich coming from the guy who made the student section remove their shirts a couple seasons ago

I think the thing most BYU fans are concerned with is not the actual name calling. I mean, look at our history, we have been treated far worse. I think it is the hypocrisy and double standard of it feeling like we are the only religion that would be targeted like this.

Interesting thoughts, and I appreciate his perspective. But I would be more swayed by the appeal to tolerance and ignoring the chants if we hadn't just seen hate lead to deadly violence in Michigan from last Sept that led to members being killed in a house of worship

He's mostly right, but words don't just hurt those to whom they're directed. They can also serve to legitimize hatred in the minds of those who already have it in their hearts. I don't know what drives people to be violent, but the chants certainly don't help.

Here is the deal. You can have that position INDIVIDUALLY - that no one can take my power, and sticks and stones blah blah. BUT - when that 💩 comes into a public arena, something needs to be done. Those lines should not be crossed. Race, color, creed, religion, etc…… this things need to be left at the door.

Let me just say he’s not the most well spoken person to address the issue.

I don’t know anyone who is truly offended, but there is no room for allowing a narrative of bigotry.

I don’t disagree with anything he said but saying “F [insert religion, race, etc]” is a line that shouldn’t be crossed and needs to be called out more forcefully.

That was a giant word salad to in the end say nothing. Good hell, stand on your convictions and quit trying to tip toe all the time.

Well that was a big nothing burger. He didn’t say anything of substance in that clip.

How does this take translate if it was a Jewish or Muslin chant?

Very superficial evaluation. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me...unless the words encourage crazy people to drive into churches and start shooting them up. So better Mark.

Pope didn’t really answer the question. I agree with what someone else stated, race, religion and gender are off limits.

You can recognize and call out poor behavior without being offended. The best time to address the poor behavior is during the game, not after. Coaches and athletic directors miss an opportunity to set the standard for good character when they don’t address it in the moment.

The chants being offensive are not the problem! Every Mormon understands mocking mormons is normal so have at it. It is the double standard that is the problem!

He just goes with the flow. I would have appreciated a response of, especially from a member of the church, that we need to love more than hate or spread being kind or something like that.

BYU teams and fans are durable. They've been subjected to this nastiness forever. But these days, rhetoric leads to violence. "F the ___________" becomes "Kill the ___________." And naturally, Mormons remember being murdered and burned out of Missouri, Illinois, ...

What? He spoke for almost 3 minutes and didn't say anything. 😂

He is absolutely right. We do need to be more careful for what we say, but being offending is a choice. We choose to be offended. We need to more secure in who we are and what we stand for and not concern ourselves with what others say or think so much.

It’s an easy answer Mark. There’s no gray area. Bigotry is bigotry

Great answer imo

@CriddleBenjamin This wish washy answer from the same man who made fans remove their horns down shirts when Texas played BYU. So I guess a college logo matters more than his own religion. 🙄

Way to condone it, Coach Pope!

Glad he ain’t our coach! Bigotry towards any religion shouldn’t be tolerated! Am I offended by it? Hell nah! Does that mean others aren’t? Nope Do people go shoot up LDS churches because of bigotry like this? Yep

What a weak answer, there is no place for religious bigotry.

I don't disagree with what Coach Pope said. The recent brouhaha comes in the wake of this happening multiple times during the Football season. Setting a precedent that it isn't acceptable or to be tolerated if you're the opponent or from conference standpoint is appropriate too.

Common Pope W

A chapel in Michigan was burned to the ground and people killed specifically for being LDS? We’re beyond sticks & stones now. People are being targeted and killed for being LDS. As long as it’s not his family being physically harmed then it’s nothing to worry about.

Proud of Pope.

Actually, really good answer by Pope

I think that's his point. People need to mind what they say and in the same breath people need to toughen the F up. I loved his response. If you let everything hurt you then you are weak. If you don't mind what you say then you're a bigot. There's a lot of gray In between though

Twitter needs to hear this