Northwestern issues statement regarding NSFW chant directed at Indiana player

During Wednesday’s game between Northwestern and Indiana, the Wildcats student section directed an NSFW chant at Hoosiers guard Miller Kopp. Thursday afternoon, the school released a statement about the incident.

The students chanted “F— Miller Kopp” at Kopp, who started his career at Northwestern before transferring to Indiana last season. He’s having a solid season for the Hoosiers, averaging 7.9 points per game while shooting 48.6% from the field, and had three points as Northwestern upset Indiana Wednesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg denounced the chants and said the language “violated our collective commitment to sportsmanship.”

.@NorthwesternU and the @BigTen are built on foundations which prioritize respect as a core value.#GoCats | @DrDerrickGragg pic.twitter.com/kL5BTCG1oi

— Northwestern Athletics (@NU_Sports) February 16, 2023

“A key catalyst in the success of our men’s basketball team this season has been the advantage provided by the Welsh-Ryan Arena crowd, particularly our students,” Gragg said in a statement. “Our home court has evolved into one of the loudest, most influential atmospheres anywhere in our sport.

“During Wednesday’s game a line was crossed with repeated, explicit verbal hostility directed at a particular member of the opposing team. The language used violated our collective commitment to sportsmanship and was offensive to many members of our community. We cannot tolerate this type of behavior in our venues. Northwestern University and the Big Ten Conference are built on foundations which prioritize respect as a core value. We look forward to two more opportunities for our men’s basketball student-athletes to compete in Evanston this season backed by the passionate, respectful support of our fans.”

Northwestern coach Chris Collins on chants directed at Miller Kopp: ‘I didn’t like it. … I love Miller’

Northwestern coach Chris Collins also addressed the chants and spoke about his relationship with Kopp. He made it clear he did not like what he heard and said Kopp’s decision to transfer didn’t leave any bad blood.

“I didn’t like it. Didn’t like it,” Collin said. “I’m not a big fan of that. It’s not something I condone. To me, first of all, Miller is a part of our family. It was not a contentious thing. I love Miller. He gave us three great years. I’ll be forever indebted to what he brought to the program. He knows there’s no bigger fan of him than me. I would’ve liked it to be a little bit more — cheer for us. I’m always big on that.

“It was so loud, I wish I had the power to kind of tell everybody to stop. … Cheer loud for us. We were super loud. Down the stretch, our fans were amazing, and it was towards us. It wasn’t directed toward the other team. Obviously, it wasn’t something that I was a fan of and something that I wish wouldn’t have happened.”

Northwestern is in the midst of an impressive season, including four straight wins over ranked opponents. The win over Indiana came just a few days after the Wildcats upset then-No. 1 Purdue in Evanston, marking the first time in program history they beat the top team. It appears Collins’ team is in line for an NCAA Tournament appearance as it takes a 19-7 overall record and 10-5 mark in Big Ten play into Sunday’s game against Iowa.