Harvard-Yale game delayed by protesters

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Protesters wearing the colors of both Harvard and Yale staged a sit-in at midfield of Yale Bowl during halftime of the 136th edition of the annual football rivalry known as The Game. Most left after about an hour when they were escorted off by police; about two dozen who remained were told by police they were under arrest.

A few dozen protesters initially trickled onto the field as the Yale band finished its halftime routine. They held up banners asking the schools’ presidents to divest from the fossil fuel industry, while other signs raised issues of Puerto Rican debt and the treatment of the Uighurs.

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.”

In a statement distributed to reporters in the press box during the fourth quarter, Yale said it “stands firmly for the right to free expression.”

“While I respect the rights of Harvard and Yale students to protest, their efforts should not impact their fellow students’ ability to pursue their passions as athletes on the field of play, and those who support them,” Yale athletic director Vicky Chun said. “We are proud of our student-athletes and coaches for their resilience today in an extremely difficult situation.”

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.