Clemson fans who traveled to Chapel Hill for their team’s game against North Carolina on Saturday were not exactly given a warm welcome, and UNC has apologized for the role school employees played in the way they were treated.
During Clemson’s thrilling 21-20 win, Tigers supporters were mocked on the Kenan Memorial Stadium video board and accused of being bandwagon fans. The implication was that they only support Clemson because of the program’s recent success, and the zingers included things like “can’t name Clemson’s last head coach” and “thinks that Clemson is in Georgia.”
The troll game is STRONG at UNC! pic.twitter.com/WxySvBsojz
— Hurricane Genni (@YourFanGenni) September 28, 2019
UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham received complaints about the trolling, and Manie Robinson of The Greenville News says he reached out to officials at Clemson and apologized. He also has responded to all the emails he received from people who were not amused.
“We want everyone who comes to Chapel Hill to have a positive experience on our campus – whether they are our supporters or our opponents’ fans, first-time visitors or long-time guests,” Cunningham wrote. “The video board spot featuring Clemson fans on Saturday was not in that spirit.
“We regret that it was produced … We addressed the inappropriateness of the spot with the responsible staff members immediately after it was shown, and we will continue to address this week the breakdown in process that led to it.”
Between UNC’s apology and what Oklahoma students were recently told about mocking Texas, it seems like schools are making an effort to cut down on hostility between fan bases.
