Student protests delay Yale's double-OT win against Harvard

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Protesters wearing the colors of both Harvard and Yale staged a sit-in Saturday at midfield of Yale Bowl during halftime of the 136th edition of the annual football rivalry known as The Game. Most walked off after about an hour with a police escort.

About 20-30 who remained were arrested.

It was an unusual scene in a wild game, which Yale won 50-43 in double overtime.

A few dozen protesters, some holding a banner asking the schools’ presidents to divest from the fossil fuel industry, initially trickled onto the field as the Yale band finished performing its halftime routine. Other signs referred to Puerto Rican debt and the treatment of the Uighurs.

Yale officials said in a statement to reporters during the fourth quarter the school “stands firmly for the right to free expression.”

“It is regrettable,” a statement attributed to the Ivy League said, “that the orchestrated protest came during a time when fellow students were participating in a collegiate career-defining contest and an annual tradition when thousands gather from around the world to enjoy and celebrate the storied traditions of both football programs and universities.”

Those arrested were released and given a court date, protest organizers said. Rachel Sadoff, a junior at Harvard, said about 150 students from the two universities planned to participate and about 100 more who were sitting in the stands joined in.

“Our goal was to spread the word,” Sadoff said. “If more people speak up, our colleges will have to listen.”

Largely of college age but with a few older protesters mixed in, the group chanted: “Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Fossil fuels have got to go!” One banner read “This is an emergency.” Mostly they sat or milled around near midfield, with some taking selfies. A vape pen and a crushed can of beer were left behind.

Police in yellow vests lined up alongside the sit-in but did not intervene. When the 15-minute halftime expired and the protest continued, hundreds more fans streamed onto the field . Fans remaining in the stands began to boo but only briefly.

The public address announcer implored the group to leave, repeating, “As a courtesy to both teams, the game must resume.”

Protesters responded by chanting, “OK, boomer.”

Players tried to remain warm on the sideline in mid-40 temperatures, but then returned to their locker rooms. Harvard coach Tim Murphy was given an update from the game officials and public safety officers as the protest continued.

Yale police chief Ronnell Higgins spoke to the protesters over a megaphone, trying to convince them they had made their point, but it would be lost if the situation escalated.

After about an hour, police formed a line and moved forward, from the Yale sideline toward the Harvard sideline. A protest leader encouraged all “internationals” to leave. An agreement was reached to escort the remainders off, with one police officer to every two protesters.

Those who did not leave then were informed by Higgins they would be arrested. Asked how many people were taken into custody, Higgins referred questions to the police public information officer. Messages left with Yale and New Haven police were not immediately returned.

Yale coach Tony Reno said the team reverted to its plans for when a game is interrupted by lightning. The Bulldogs (9-1, 6-1 Ivy League) rallied from a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit to win in darkness in the lightless, century-old Yale Bowl to clinch the Ivy League championship and conclude one of the strangest editions in the rivalry’s 144-year history.

Armstrong product Zane Dudek scored twice for Yale, including the winner on a 4-yard run in double overtime. He finished with 52 yards rushing on 15 carries.

Fifty-one years after “The Tie” that was celebrated with The Crimson student newspaper headline “Harvard Beats Yale 29-29,” it was Yale that rallied to tie Saturday’s game, winning when the Crimson (4-6, 2-5) were stopped on fourth down in the second OT.

“It’s what makes Yale Yale,” Reno said. “Our group, I’m sure if you asked them and the Harvard guys what makes it special, it’s not only the game of football. It’s the passions.”