(CNN)Colorado State University has apologized to Utah State's Ukrainian junior guard after spectators chanted 'Russia" toward him at a men's basketball game in Fort Collins, Colorado, on Saturday night.
"We became aware that a small group of individuals in our student section chanted 'Russia' at a student-athlete from Utah State, who is from the Ukraine. On behalf of Colorado State, we apologize to the student-athlete and Utah State," the school wrote in a series of tweets early Sunday.
The chant could be heard when Max Shulga, who is from Kyiv, went to the free throw line late in the game. Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, has been subjected to much of Russia's violent assault on the country, from intense shelling to the killing of civilians attempting to flee and attacks on civilian settlements.
The chants were "extremely upsetting in the moment," Shulga said said in a statement, but added that he knew "emotions can run high during competition and people can do and say things they do not really mean."