Harvard-Yale delayed by climate change protest
Harvard and Yale players were sent to their respective locker rooms before the start of the third quarter due to a climate change protest on the field. (0:51)
The start of the second half of Saturday’s Harvard–Yale game was delayed by nearly an hour after a number of spectators rushed the field to stage a climate change protest.
After the game went to halftime around 1:40 p.m. ET with the Crimson leading 15-3, students from both schools occupied midfield after the Yale band had finished performing.
The field was ultimately cleared, and the game resumed at 2:48 p.m. ET.
Some protesters held banners asking their colleges to act on climate change and Puerto Rican debt relief, including one sign that read, “Nobody wins. Yale & Harvard are complicit in climate injustice.”
“Hey hey, ho ho, fossil fuels have got to go,” some protesters chanted.
Players were stretching and warming up when the protesters first took the field. The players returned to the locker room as hundreds more rushed in.
Some protesters had tied themselves together and were requesting police to arrest them, according to ESPN’s Jack Ford. Police officers were seen escorting some protesters off the field.
Caleb Schwartz, a Harvard student and spokesman for the group Divest Harvard, said Saturday’s protest was the result of months of coordination.
“This is a very deliberate choice of targeting this specific [game] to get our action out there,” Schwartz told ESPN’s Paul Kix.
Saturday was the 136th edition of “The Game” between Harvard and Yale. The Bulldogs can clinch an Ivy League title with a win.