Eastern Michigan might have won the game against Wyoming, but it didn’t come without incident or distraction.
EMU’s 27-24 victory on Friday night moved the Eagles to 3-1 — but that was quickly overshadowed by student protest that began during the game and continued on the field after the contest.
The students were protesting the use of racist ‘KKK’ graffiti that was spray painted on a campus building.
According to reports — groups of students do not believe the school administration’s response was nearly strong enough, so they took steps of their own.
Ben Kercheval of CBS Sports added more on Friday’s night’s demonstration:
The protest group was seen near the field during the second half of the game on CBS Sports Network. Speaking with CBS Sports Network on Friday evening, EMU president James Smith said the protest group wished to enter the track surrounding the football field but was not permitted due to security issues.
The group walked onto the field immediately after the game while players from both teams exited. Many protesters chanted and/or raised their fists. The group then made its way to the stands, where they continued to chant to raise awareness of the racist remarks found on campus.
MLive and others provided video footage of students chanting during the protest:
Eastern Michigan students are currently protesting at the Wyoming/EMU game. Racist graffiti was found on the campus this week. #EMU pic.twitter.com/DIHZxIuhcU
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 24, 2016
https://vine.co/v/5v1mU1l57MZ
Students now march onto the field chanting “No justice no peace”. #EasternMichigan #Blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/PiQ61twyVV
— Knowledge is Power (@OutkastCard) September 24, 2016
This was the scene when the game ended at #EasternMichiganUniversity. #BLM student protestors march onto the field. pic.twitter.com/KsmF3Q30Tk
— John Schriffen (@JohnSchriffen) September 24, 2016