Somewhat lost in Colorado State’s stunning comeback Saturday was a bizarre incident early that cast one member of Jim McElwain‘s coaching staff in a very negative national light.
After throwing his first of six touchdown passes, Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday became involved in a verbal exchange with Rams offensive line coach Greg Lupfer along the CSU sideline. Cameras caught Lupfer, the Daily Coloradoan wrote, “mouthing what appeared to be a homophobic slur” at Halliday, with that slur essentially boiling down to “f-----g f----t*.”
(*Very NSFW hyperlink)
CSU athletic director Jack Graham met with the media following the New Mexico Bowl win -- after pulling Lupfer out of the postgame celebration for a little one-on-one -- and vowed to conduct a probe into the incident.
“We’re going to take a deep dive on this (in an investigation),” Graham said. “It appears that it was a very inappropriate event. ... If it is what it appears to have been, it’s not what Colorado State University is. It’s unacceptable behavior and we will deal with it appropriately.”
Added Graham, “It’s not who we are or what we are. And we’ll deal with it.”
For his part, Lupfer apologized via Twitter for the words he directed at Halliday.
“I am truly sorry for what I said,” the assistant said. “It was wrong and those words do not represent who I am and what I believe in. I apologize for this embarrassment I caused for Colorado State University, this team and my family.”
Halliday claimed Lupfer grabbed him during the incident, although the video shows it was another CSU coach who put his hands on the player in an attempt to separate the two. Like everyone else involved, Halliday declined to get into the specifics of what was said during the exchange.
“The coach grabbed me and said some profane things to me,” said Halliday. “That’s all I’ll say about it.”