U. of Minn. apologizes for their sacriligious gopher

Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota

​The University of Minnesota's Goldy Gopher made national headlines after last weekend's game against Penn State. The frisky not-actually-a-gopher mascot decided to mock/imitate a Penn State player as he knelt along the sidelines to pray before a game.

The University felt the need to apologize for their gopher's bad deed, partially to avert any continuing controversy and also because mascots don't talk. All this hoopla and the player says he isn't even bothered by it.

Check out the original video of the incident and the University's apology below.


The University apology, via the Star Tribune:

We have had a discussion with Goldy about the incident in Penn State on Saturday. It certainly wasn't his intent to offend anyone or trivialize their religion. The life of a mascot at a sporting event is fast-paced and enormously high energy. This was plainly a mistake. On behalf of Goldy and the University of Minnesota, I want to apologize to the Penn State player involved and anyone else who may have taken offense from this incident. We have reiterated to Goldy the importance of exercising appropriate religious sensitivity in the future.