Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Tyler Batty's halftime speech, containing profanity, went viral, sparking controversy.
- BYU's honor code discourages such language, but Batty's leadership is praised by coaches.
- The incident highlights privacy concerns, as the speech was secretly recorded and leaked.
PROVO — Gosh, golly, gee, a leaked tape caught a BYU football player repeatedly using profanity to fire up his team at halftime of last week's loss to Arizona State.
Big flippin' deal. It happens in sports, often from the best of them.
After BYU's lackluster first half that saw the Sun Devils take a 21-3 lead, a fiery Tyler Batty went batty to motivate his teammates to perform better in the second half. Coincidental or not, the Cougars dominated the rest of the way and nearly pulled off an incredible comeback.
In many cases, Batty would be lauded for great leadership and unwavering commitment to his team. The game had huge stakes, with the winner gaining an inside track to play in the Big 12 championship next week.
BYU suffered its second consecutive loss in conference play and now needs help to make the title game. The Sun Devils only need to beat rival Arizona, which is 4-7, on Saturday to qualify for the game in Arlington, Texas.
In the shady world of social media, Batty's remarks went viral and caused somewhat of a stir. Among many requirements, BYU's honor code states students are to "respect others, including the avoidance of profane and vulgar language."
To those offended by a BYU player swearing, get over it. Any media member covering the football team, along with other sports, can cite dozens of examples from players and coaches that follow along the line of Batty's remarks.
For multiple reasons, he deserves no university sanctions. The overriding premise is locker rooms at halftime are considered safe spaces, places that are not open to the public.
Batty likely had no clue a presumed outsider in the hallway was secretly recording his motivational ploy and then would have the audacity to post it for public consumption. Whoever recorded it needs to be accountable for the reckless decision.
"It made me want to run through a wall again at around 11:30 (Sunday night) when I heard again on my TikTok. Obviously, not super appropriate I don't think to have an employee of the school you're at take a video of a private team moment like that. But at the end of the day, honestly, we don't care that much," said center Connor Pay.
Nor should they. Go after the recorder, whose identity or possible position at Arizona State has not been made public.
The leak was part of a wild set of circumstances that included a bizarre ending to the game. In a poor attempt to end the game, Arizona State tried to run out the clock by throwing a pass out of bounds on fourth down only to have the officials put one second remaining.
Thinking the game was over, thousands of Arizona State fans stormed the field amid that confusion. Some 15 minutes later, the field was cleared, but BYU came up two yards short on a Hail Mary pass on the final play.
Adding to the craziness, the referees ruled Jake Retzlaff's pass was incomplete even though Chase Roberts clearly caught it. Rather than address Batty's comments, coach Kalani Sitake said on Monday the conference office was reviewing all the strange events.
"They'll deal with it," said Sitake. "I trust the Big 12 leadership and let them handle that."
But Sitake was quick to praise Batty for his contributions to the team, noting he turned down more money to stay with BYU.
"He's all about legacy and he's all about doing what he can do help this program," Sitake said. "This is his home. You can see in the way he plays that he wants this place to succeed."
The 24-year-old Batty has been a mainstay on the defensive line the last four years coming out of Payson High. BYU's third-leading tackler, who will be honored with other seniors on Saturday's last home game of the season, can return for a fifth season or enter this spring's NFL draft.
His position coach, Kelly Poppinga, took to social media on Sunday to call Batty "one of the toughest, smartest, most passionate, and committed players I have coached in my career."
