CU Apologizes for 'Gangsta' Mascot At Nuggets Game

DENVER -- The University of Colorado's costumed buffalo mascot showed up for a "kids night" at a Denver Nuggets basketball dressed in what some described as "gangsta-themed" attire, the Boulder Daily Camera reported.

The incident happened Friday night at the Pepsi Center when the "Chip" wore a do-rag, baggy pants, and a gang-associated tattoo.

CU apologized for the "insensitive, unfortunate and thoughtless" display. The act was the work of two CU student volunteers, but CU would not identify them.

Supporters of the stunt said Chip was dressed in "hip hop" attire -- not gangsta attire.

According to the Daily Camera, the mascot costume had a teardrop tattoo below one eye. The newspaper said the tattoo is commonly associated with gang activity, often signifying that the wearer has killed someone.

"It was, basically, every stereotypical thing you could think of," CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard told the newspaper. "It ended up being a gang-style persona, and that's just unacceptable."

Hillard said he talked to one of the students involved that student was sorry about what happened and had not considered how some people might react to the changes in the CU mascot costume.

"They obviously didn't do a good job researching this, because if they had they would have seen the enormous implications and the tragic implications of that (teardrop) symbol," Hilliard said. "We want to apologize to the general public for this, to Nuggets fans and to Buffs fans. This does not represent our values."

If you were at Friday night's Nuggets game and have a photograph of the CU mascot, please e-mail it to 7NEWS.