COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — The Colorado Rapids are condemning a "detestable" chant that occurred at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Saturday.
The Major League Soccer club released a statement Wednesday that said it condemns "the use of this word in the strongest possible terms."
"We do not take this matter lightly and have begun an internal review that is being carried out by senior leadership from the club and [Kroenke Sports & Entertainment]," the statement said.
The Rapids added that the club is "exploring every avenue to ensure that this chant is eradicated from our stadium."
The Colorado Rapids (0-1-1) held their home opener Saturday night at Dick Sporting Goods Park against Sporting Kansas City (0-1-1). The Rapids' William Yarbrough finished with a career-high 11 saves to help the club earn a scoreless draw with Kansas City.
Here is the full statement from the Rapids regarding Saturday's chant:
"As a club that prides itself on its inclusive values and providing a safe and welcoming environment for all, we were incredibly disappointed to learn that the detestable p-chant emerged during our game on Saturday. We condemn the use of this word in the strongest possible terms — it has no place within our sport or community, let alone at our stadium.
We do not take this matter lightly and have begun an internal review that is being carried out by senior leadership from the club and KSE. As part of this review, we are conducting an evaluation of all related processes and exploring every avenue to ensure that this chant is eradicated from our stadium. Along with that, we are working together with our supporters’ groups, who have also publicly condemned this chant, to prevent this from happening again."
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