EAST LANSING - Chad Sanders has been watching Michigan State football games at Spartan Stadium for five years, and says lively chants from its student section are part of the experience.

When Tulsa's Golden Hurricane's took the field two weeks ago students greeted them with profanity he'd never heard used from the students.

"(Expletive) you!" students in the section chanted several times.

"That particular chant was the most egregious that we've heard in the five years we've been attending," Sanders said.

Across the stadium Brenda Rzeppa, a season-ticket holder and Michigan State Unversity alumnus, heard it too. The chant was loud, and continued throughout the game, she said.

"It was classless, embarrassing," Rzeppa, of East Lansing, said.

Last Saturday when Western Michigan University trainers were tending to an injured player during the game's first quarter Sanders heard the chant again.

"My wife and I were both like, 'Are you serious?' Sanders said. "It's really reflecting poorly on the school. That's not who we are."

An MSU spokesperson asked to comment about the chant released a statement Tuesday.

"Michigan State has a loyal, passionate fan base, including an enthusiastic student section," Matt Larson, a spokesperson for MSU's athletic department, in the statement. "Sportsmanship is a top priority, including positive behavior throughout the stadium. We are continually looking for ways to add additional positive opportunities for fans, specifically students, to participate in and positively impact the gameday experience for all."

It's unclear if department officials are aware of the '(Expletive) you!' chant used at the last two football games, or if anything will be done to discourage it. Larson didn't respond to follow up questions.

Ben Phlegar, MSU's associate director for the football program, didn't respond to a message and email from a State Journal reporter Tuesday, nor did MSU Athletic Director Bill Beekman.

The university needs to stand against the chant, Rzeppa said, and so should fans.

"Who are we supposed to say something to?" she said. "I would if I knew."

'I can't imagine that this is okay'

"MSU GAMEDAY IS CURRENTLY A LITTLE EFFED UP," Sanders wrote in a lengthy Sept. 8 Facebook post.

In it, Sanders explains that MSU football's first home game of the season against Tulsa was also his daughter's first on the field performing with the Spartan Marching Band.

Thanks to the chants of "(Expletive) you!" from the stadium's student section, Sanders wrote, "A video of the moment would definitely need to be edited."

In Rzeppa's section she listened as small children sitting nearby asked the adults with them to explain what the swear word in the chant meant.

It isn't uncommon to hear spectators sitting in the student section yell "1, 2, 3, First down (Expletive)!" when the Spartans move the ball another 10 yards down the field, she said, but the "(Expletive) you!" chant takes the profanity too far.

"I can't imagine that this is okay," she said.

Jane Meddaugh, 69, says it isn't. She's a die-hard Spartan fan and alumnus but the chants she witnessed during the first two games this season went too far, she said.

When she posted about them in "Michigan State Spartan Nation," a Facebook fan group, she said the vast majority of commentators expressed the same concerns she has.

Meddaugh said she is fond of the student section.

"I love those kids," she said. "They high five me. They're a lot of fun."

During the Tulsa game, Meddaugh said she witnessed the entire student section launch into a loud chant of "(Expletive) you!' as a spectator and two little girls dressed in Tulsa fan gear walked past them.

"Those poor little girls were scared to death," she said, "And I just thought, that isn't right."

This is about more than free speech, Sanders wrote in his Facebook post.

"We are sending a clear message when we pretend that we don’t hear thousands of fans yelling a word that the FCC has deemed off-limits for broadcast TV," he wrote.

Paula Turner-Bommarito, who graduated from MSU in 1994, said she wasn't at the last two football games, but she "bleeds green" and was very concerned when she learned about the student section chant.

"You're in a public setting," she said. "It's nationally-televised games some of the time...it's also a family event."

Beyond that, Turner-Bommarito said, the chant sets the tone for how people across the country will view Michigan State University, and in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal that matters more than ever right now.

"It's not the look, feel or reputation that we want people to think of us as," she said.

'Code of conduct'

According to Michigan State University's website, spectators are expected to abide by a "code of conduct" at Spartan Stadium.

"The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics promotes good sportslike conduct and encourages fans to exhibit the highest level of sportsmanship by supporting the participants in a positive manner," it reads. "Any disruptive or intimidating behavior will not be tolerated. These actions are considered grounds for removal from the stadium and may preclude the offender from purchasing tickets to future Spartan Athletic events."

Meddaugh said she sent a message to MSU's athletic department about the chant through its website two weeks ago but got no response.

This isn't the first time profanity at Spartan Stadium became an issue. In 2006 former MSU President Lou Anna Simon sent an email to season ticket holders addressing the lack of civility in and around the stadium.

In his Facebook post Sanders called on the athletic program's leadership, including Mark Dantonio and Tom Izzo, to step up and denounce the behavior.

"I think having two of MSU’s heroes directly addressing the behavior would make many students think twice, and probably get some students to encourage others to pipe down," Sanders wrote.

Turner-Bommarito agreed.

"We have to cross our 'T's and dot our 'I's as a university," she said. "What image are we trying to portray to the world as MSU students?"

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Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.

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