Wisconsin football: Barry Alvarez issues statement on fan incident during Nebraska game

Last Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, two fans wore a despicable set of costumes involving Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump lynching Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and President Obama with a noose.

The fan complied with the UW athletics staff to remove the noose and was not ejected from the game. The university released a statement immediately after the 23-17 overtime win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers, stating, “while repugnant AND COUNTER TO THE VALUES OF THE UNIVERSITY AND ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT, was an exercise of the individual's right to free speech. The university also exercised its rights by asking the individual to remove the offensive parts of the costume.”

UW-Madison chancellor Rebecca Blank echoed similar sentiments in a statement on Oct. 30.

Many felt this wasn’t enough and criticized the reactions by the university.

Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez met with community leaders, including Boys & Girls Club of Dane County president and CEO Michael Johnson, on Wednesday. Alvarez issued a statement later in the day:

“I am deeply troubled by the incident from last Saturday’s game and I am sorry for the harm it caused. I am determined that nothing like this will happen again.

“I appreciated the opportunity to meet with a number of community leaders and students this afternoon to discuss our stadium policies. Our plan, before our next home football game, is to have a revised policy in place. Our department is committed to working collaboratively to make our stadium a great and safe place for fans to watch a football game.”

Johnson tweeted early Thursday morning that it was a “step in the right direction.”