College Media Network - Search the largest news resource for college students by college students Jobs and internships for students -

The Daily Utah Chronicle > Football

Hypocritical Hall lacks class with post-game comments

By Paige Fieldsted

Sports Editor

|

Published: Monday, November 30, 2009

Updated: Monday, November 30, 2009

hall

Mike Mangum/The Daily Utah Chronicle

BYU quarterback Max Hall sparked a huge reaction after calling Utah fans “classless” in his post-game press conference. Hall said the comments stemmed from how his family was treated at the game the year before.

Nothing stays secret for long, especially when it comes to trash talk. Comments about the U by BYU’s senior quarterback Max Hall were no different.

Within minutes of the postgame interview, in which Hall called the entire U “classless,” hundreds of Facebook statuses—mine included—were updated proclaiming their hatred for Hall and BYU. This morning, a Google search for the interview returns thousands of sites with the live audio feed.

I have never personally competed in a rivalry matchup the magnitude of a Utah versus BYU football game, but I think it’s safe to say we all know that when it comes to the rivalry, emotions run high and opinions are strong.

I have no doubt that many Utah players feel the same the way Hall does—they hate BYU, its players, program and fans, but I’ve never once heard a player vocalize those feelings.

In the Utes’ postgame interviews, the mood was somber to say the least, but not one of the Utah players said anything negative about BYU. Instead, they gave them credit for coming out and playing a great football game. Regardless of what they were feeling about BYU and its fans, Utah players were able to keep themselves in check.

I’m not saying that all Utah players are saints and nothing bad ever comes out of their mouths, but what Hall said was tacky and uncalled for.

Hall was in the midst of his postgame celebration at midfield, but I was standing on the field near the Utah fan section, having just watched BYU score the winning touchdown. If Hall wants to talk about classless, he should’ve seen his “loyal” fans’ behavior after the win.

Several BYU fans who had rushed the field ran directly over Utah fans, making upside down U signs, flipping them off and swearing at them. One BYU fan even went as far as to call one of the female fans in the stand a whore.

I left the area just as security was breaking up a fight between a BYU and Utah fan. As I walked out of the tunnel, I heard a Utah fan say, “I’m glad it’s OK to not be Mormon after a football game,” or something to that effect.

The thought rang true for me, and I realized the reason Utah fans hate BYU so much is not because they beat us, though that definitely helps. It’s because they have a holier-than-thou attitude and then contradict themselves with unruly behavior, which would definitely be frowned upon by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I know Utah fans get out of control sometimes. They say things they shouldn’t and do things that would match Hall’s description of classless, but they don’t hide behind a blanket of religion.

I heard Hall called many things after his interview, most of which I can’t put in print, but hypocrite was one of them. In professing his hatred for Utah and calling our entire program, university and fan base classless, Hall himself made an unclassy move.

Even loyal Cougar fans and BYU graduates agree that Hall’s comments were unsportsmanlike and unnecessary. Hundreds of comments on message boards on both the Deseret News’ and The Salt Lake Tribune’s websites prove it.

Fans and players alike are bound to let their emotions and the heat of the rivalry get the best of them and do things that they might later regret, but most don’t do it in a press conference. Hall will undoubtedly be hearing about it for a long time to come.

p.fieldsted@chronicle.utah.edu

 

Recommended: Articles that may interest you

19 comments

Matt
Tue Dec 1 2009 21:23
Your headline isn't very journalistic.
A Y/U fan
Mon Nov 30 2009 21:09
I just want to say that I am proud of the majority of the fans on this page who are seeing Max Hall's statement for what it is. I was a student at the U and I am currently a student at the Y and I know that at both schools there are students who embarrass us and the entire school. There are idiots everywhere. It is extremely unfortunate the things that happened to Max and his family, but that didn't make it right to say what he did. They are both great schools, and a few overzealous religious followers, offensive fans, or inappropriate comments should cause any degree of hatred towards another group. The majority of us here at the Y disagree with Max's comments as U fans would with the actions towards his family. It is a great rivalry and I am looking forward to another great game next year.
Zoobie
Mon Nov 30 2009 20:34
U transfer from the "why?": "Zoobs are going to have to get over themselves and learn to admit what everybody else has known for over a century...you're fallible."

As you proved by transferring to the U. :)

U transfer from the "why?"
Mon Nov 30 2009 18:31
Wow! There sure seems to be an awful lot of zoobie apologists on this thread. Get over it zoobs. Hall said what he felt, and not in the heat of the moment. His opinions of the Utes and the Univ. of Utah have been festering for no less than 12 months. Hall verbalized what most zoobs believe to be true. Neither Hall nor zoobies will be known for exhibiting classy behavior. Classy behavior and great football [those of the BCS caliber] are just some examples of things zoobs talk about, but never really come close to achieving. Zoobs are going to have to get over themselves and learn to admit what everybody else has known for over a century...you're fallible.
Will West
Mon Nov 30 2009 17:56
Wow. Paige, how are your comments any different than Max Hall's? You admit that you updated your status to show your "hatred for BYU and Max Hall." Where's your apology? Surely you don't mean that you hate everything about BYU? Pretty sure Mr. Hall just got reprimanded for saying the same thing about the U. Too bad you'll only be seen on an insignificant school newspaper rather than media outlets around the world. Either way, you definitely contributed to the problem by bringing religion into the mix. Please show me where it says that you have to be a Mormon to be a fan of BYU football. Or how bout telling me why you are only picking on Max and not holding U players accountable for their words on other media outlets? You also seem to be very free with the word hypocrite. Are we to assume that in a moment of passion you've never said something stupid? Good work on casting the first stone. Poor article indeed.
Will West
Mon Nov 30 2009 17:50
Wow. Paige, how are your comments any different than Max Hall's? You admit that you updated your status to show your "hatred for BYU and Max Hall." Where's your apology? Surely you don't mean that you hate everything about BYU? Pretty sure Mr. Hall just got reprimanded for saying the same thing about the U. Too bad you'll only be seen on an insignificant school newspaper rather than media outlets around the world. Either way, you definitely contributed to the problem by bringing religion into the mix. Please show me where it says that you have to be a Mormon to be a fan of BYU football. Or how bout telling me why you are only picking on Max and not holding U players accountable for their words on other media outlets? You also seem to be very free with the word hypocrite. Are we to assume that in a moment of passion you've never said something stupid? Good work on casting the first stone. Poor article indeed.
anaslovak
Mon Nov 30 2009 17:42
Mr. Hall's comments and apology reminded me of the famous former miss California, Carrie Prejean
I'm a LDS church member, I'm a convert, since I came to Utah, I have been very disappointed by many church members, "so-called" very spiritual ones, every time they did something wrong and got blamed or accused, what came out of their mouth first is always " I am sorry that I did this BUT..." "Nobody is perfect, not even you" instead of just saying " I am very sorry" and stop there. If they are apologizing sincerely, there is no need of adding "but...." or excuse after excuse after "I'm very sorry". It just ruins the whole point of showing apology.
Also, many fans that defend Max Hall's immature comments are saying "it shouldn't be a big deal, we all do or say stupid things when we are young, so it's totally understandable and it's okay" Well, I say it's not a big deal for us fans to say whatever we feel about the other team even if those are classless trashy talk(I really do not like trashy talk about any opponents though) because we are just some of many people out there, I mean, we are "nobody" unlike Mr. Hall, so whatever we "nobody" say or do can be ignored after all. Mr. Hall, however, is a very successful and famous QB at BYU. Things he says or does have influences. He should have known that he is carrying the big flag for BYU and for our LDS church. There are many anti-LDS, anti-BYU people out there that are trying to find any tiny things to pick on us. He should not have said things that would create more people to think "That's why we don't like BYU. Mormons are fake, they are hypocrites". And if he was sincerely apologizing, he should have come up to the media and apologized in front of the cameras instead of just doing it in a letter like a little girl would do.
I hope people do not hate BYU and our church but hate only hypocrites.
I don't think Heavenly Father is not happy about many Christians using "Nobody is perfect" as an excuse to justify their wrong doing when they need to just apologize sincerely.
(I'm sorry about my poor English writing skills, I'm a foreign student, so please overlook my grammatical mistakes)
Anonymous
Mon Nov 30 2009 17:41
Wow. Paige, how are your comments any different than Max Hall's? You admit that you updated your status to show your "hatred for BYU and Max Hall." Where's your apology? Surely you don't mean that you hate everything about BYU? Pretty sure Mr. Hall just got reprimanded for saying the same thing about the U. Too bad you'll only be seen on an insignificant school newspaper rather than media outlets around the world. Either way, you definitely contributed to the problem by bringing religion into the mix. Please show me where it says that you have to be a Mormon to be a fan of BYU football. Or how bout telling me why you are only picking on Max and not holding U players accountable for their words on other media outlets? You also seem to be very free with the word hypocrite. Are we to assume that in a moment of passion you've never said something stupid? Good work on casting the first stone. Poor article indeed.
Wilberforce
Mon Nov 30 2009 17:40
Wow. Paige, how are your comments any different than Max Hall's? You admit that you updated your status to show your "hatred for BYU and Max Hall." Where's your apology? Surely you don't mean that you hate everything about BYU? Pretty sure Mr. Hall just got reprimanded for saying the same thing about the U. Too bad you'll only be seen on an insignificant school newspaper rather than media outlets around the world. Either way, you definitely contributed to the problem by bringing religion into the mix. Please show me where it says that you have to be a Mormon to be a fan of BYU football. Or how bout telling me why you are only picking on Max and not holding U players accountable for their words on other media outlets? You also seem to be very free with the word hypocrite. Are we to assume that in a moment of passion you've never said something stupid? Good work on casting the first stone. Poor article indeed.
Wilberforce
Mon Nov 30 2009 17:40
Wow. Paige, how are your comments any different than Max Hall's? You admit that you updated your status to show your "hatred for BYU and Max Hall." Where's your apology? Surely you don't mean that you hate everything about BYU? Pretty sure Mr. Hall just got reprimanded for saying the same thing about the U. Too bad you'll only be seen on an insignificant school newspaper rather than media outlets around the world. Either way, you definitely contributed to the problem by bringing religion into the mix. Please show me where it says that you have to be a Mormon to be a fan of BYU football. Or how bout telling me why you are only picking on Max and not holding U players accountable for their words on other media outlets? You also seem to be very free with the word hypocrite. Are we to assume that in a moment of passion you've never said something stupid? Good work on casting the first stone. Poor article indeed.
Wilberforce
Mon Nov 30 2009 17:39
Wow. Paige, how are your comments any different than Max Hall's? You admit that you updated your status to show your "hatred for BYU and Max Hall." Where's your apology? Surely you don't mean that you hate everything about BYU? Pretty sure Mr. Hall just got reprimanded for saying the same thing about the U. Too bad you'll only be seen on an insignificant school newspaper rather than media outlets around the world. Either way, you definitely contributed to the problem by bringing religion into the mix. Please show me where it says that you have to be a Mormon to be a fan of BYU football. Or how bout telling me why you are only picking on Max and not holding U players accountable for their words on other media outlets? You also seem to be very free with the word hypocrite. Are we to assume that in a moment of passion you've never said something stupid? Good work on casting the first stone. Poor article indeed.
Seattle Steve
Mon Nov 30 2009 12:48
"Within minutes of the postgame interview, in which Hall called the entire U “classless,” hundreds of Facebook statuses—mine included—were updated proclaiming their hatred for Hall and BYU. . . Even loyal Cougar fans and BYU graduates agree that Hall’s comments were unsportsmanlike and unnecessary."

So despite the admitted fact that BYU fans disclaim Hall's condemnation of Utah, you still hate both Hall and BYU?

That makes you, Paige, part of the problem, and actually tends to justify Hall's ill-considered remarks.

The fact is, the U of U fan base has always hated -- and I mean actually HATED -- the BYU program and its fans. It's only in the past ten years or so that Ute words and actions have gotten so out of hand that BYU players and fans have begun returning the feelings in earnest. It's a pity, and shameful for BYU, but Utes ought not express outrage and hurt feelings over hatred they have themselves carefully cultivated and nurtured for many years.

anon
Mon Nov 30 2009 11:58
Max Hall has said in interviews before that BYU football is unique because they don't represent just a school but also a faith. Given his previous statement anything he says while in a BYU uniform in representative of his school and faith. While the rivalry has people acting inappropriately on both sides this was far and beyond due to the fact that it was after a win, which showed poor sportsmanship, and it was in front of the media, whereas Morgan Scalley had the tact to keep his comments behind closed doors. Max Hall was very open about his poor choice of words.
Pay Attention Paige
Mon Nov 30 2009 10:50
Paige - you're not paying enough attention to Utah athletes. This morning, a local sports radio station confirmed that earlier this year Utah's Sylvester posted on his favorite social networking site that he "hates the bi#$%es at BYU". Not only did he also say he hates, but he called them a very mean, inappropriate word. Morgan Scalley, a few years ago, said he hated those pri@#s. I disagree with all of their actions/comments. But if you are disgusted or upset by one, you MUST likewise be disgusted and upset by the other. They're all equally guilty of poor sportsmanship and behavior - which goes both ways by many fans. And what about Urban putting Y logos in the urinals for the U players to pee on their rival?

It's a dirty game, and many of these guys are acting just like the mud they're in. Everyone needs to clean it up. I'm not bothered by the fact that Max is religious, or that he falied to live his religion. Everyone does at one time or another. Personally, I'd rather have someone try to live at a level 10 standard and periodically drop down to a level 2, than I would have people profess no standard (level 0) and constantly act at that level. Sure, there's no "hypocrisy", but there's also no good behavior.

Ron
Mon Nov 30 2009 10:32
I agree with Andrew. Furthermore, not all BYU fans are even Mormon. The problem is not that Max said what he said; it is that he he had to say or felt a need to say anything at all. There truly are classless fans on both sides of this rivalry as well as amongst fans of any team anywhere. And there definitely are so-called fans at the U who have a holier-than-thou attitude. Perhaps it is more of a self-righteous attitude and it is not unique to BYU. You see it in some Wyoming fans as well as Utah State supporters.

Max was wrong in expressing his sentiments to the media and has since offered his apology. His blanket statements were too far reaching but I don't blame him for saying what he said. Just a poor choice of words and platform. Truly there exists problems with fans of most major teams and sports across the nation. From golf to tennis besides basketball and football. I would guess the percentages of the classless fans for all teams would be less than one percent of all fans. Too bad for the rest of us! But we all need to take responsibility to not stand by and allow those idiots that make up this one percent to tarnish the experience of a good sporting event for the true fan.

Dustin Telford
Mon Nov 30 2009 10:19
I, for one, would appreciate a sincere apology from Mr. Hall. We've all heard and seen the pitiful excuses celebrities make for making human mistakes. Yes, his comments were hippocriitical, classless, and base, but shouldn't an apology be sincere and without qualifications.

Mr. Hall has apparently held such venom in his heart over a few rowdy people for an entire year that given his chance to shine, to speak favorably of his opponents on the field, Hall decided to lash out. It seems as though a year or more worth of hatred can't be covered up by a poor apology. The apology was for the media not sincere as evidence by how Mr. Hall went on and on about how some people just made him so mad that he no other choice but to hate those affiliated with the University of Utah.

TearsTheWingsOffAngels
Mon Nov 30 2009 10:11
Not saying Max should have said that, but I'm a Ute fan, and I've seen what some of us get up to. It's one thing to be excited about the game. It's another to be offensive, or even assault other fans. Anger management anyone? (And don't try telling me BYU fans are just as bad: that's so besides the point.)
Andrew
Mon Nov 30 2009 09:45
Not all BYU fans are active Mormons. Everything about your article rang true, but bringing religion into it.....classless:)
Mr. Anonymous
Mon Nov 30 2009 09:43
I think it is understandable that a player would get upset when his family is treated badly while he is on the field. Some fans on both sides are idiots, and their conduct is inexcusable. Hall is, after all, a student, and a young man. His upset is understandable. He is correct that some people at the U are classless, just as are some people at BYU. He is incorrect that this is true of everyone at the school. But again... he's a young guy. He'll grow up and figure out that he was mistaken. I say we give him a break.






log out