Over the past few years, we have seen a shift in the nature of the rivalry between the University of Utah and BYU from good-natured to vitriolic. As Utah has continued to rise above its in-state rival in major revenue sports (football, basketball), the rivalry has lost appeal for many Utah fans, since Utah has little to gain by beating BYU other than fleeting bragging rights. The university does, however, stand to lose more than it could possibly gain by continuing to play an in-state opponent that participates in a lower level of competition. Whereas a win does not help the teams to achieve their athletic goals in relation to conference play or national reputation, a loss to a mid-major team such as BYU can do a lot of damage to the teams' postseason aspirations. The game has become a high-risk, low-reward situation. We also wish for the series to be discontinued because we don't want to see our players be subjected to unnecessary cheap shots and dirty plays. We understand that there is a certain level of aggression and sometimes violence that takes place during sporting events, especially football, but BYU has made a name for itself in past years as a team that plays recklessly and likes to bend and sometimes break the rules when it comes to necessary roughness. To make matters worse, they also have a reputation of being lenient when it comes to punishment for these violent acts, choosing to enact the bare minimum required discipline, if they take any action at all. In the past year, we saw several nationally recognized cheap shots taken by BYU players against various opponents, the most recent being a BYU player sucker-punching a Utah player during the annual basketball game. Following that game, Utah's head basketball coach and the athletic director decided to cancel the 2016 matchup, and legally terminated the contract between the two schools via an $80,000 buyout clause, which Coach Krystkowiak is paying himself, so as to not put a burden on Utah taxpayers. Since then, there has been constant complaining from many BYU supporters who take childish delight in smearing and slandering Coach Krystkowiak's and Dr. Hill's names, and who want to force Utah to play the game. For whatever reason, some of these people are trying to use political influence and pressure to ensure that an annual game is scheduled, even if it must be done via legislative means. Several Utah legislators have abused their political positions, and, in extremely petty and unethical fashion, have threatened to cut funding to the university over the cancelled game. Representative Dan McCay, from Riverton, Utah, even went so far as to threaten to cancel the athletic program altogether over this issue. While sports bring out the passion in many of us, using political position to bring about legal action in order to force two teams to play each other when there has been no breach of contract, especially when one team clearly does not wish to play the other, is wholly inappropriate. In an attempt to get Dr. Hill and President Pershing to reverse the decision, the state legislature has approved an audit of the university's athletic department, no doubt hoping to find some sort of slip-up which the aforementioned anti-Utah legislators can then use as leverage to force the University of Utah into playing the game. Not only is this a waste of taxpayer funds and of legislative time, but it is, for many Utah fans, the final straw in what has been a growing list of reasons to discontinue all athletic events with BYU for the foreseeable future. We, the undersigned, as fans, students, alumni, donors, and season ticket holders, ask that the athletic department of the University of Utah does not schedule any further athletic events with Brigham Young University. We do not wish to continue to indirectly subsidize the success of or give exposure to an institution whose supporters are willing to stoop to such low levels as wasting tax money on a vindictive audit in order to try to get what they want from the University of Utah. If all currently scheduled events must be fulfilled, so be it, but it has become clear that the burdens which come along with competing with BYU in athletic events are far more trouble than they're worth.