WATCH: USC-CAL game delayed by student protest on the field over a suspended professor

Students protested over a professor, who was suspended because of stalking allegations.

WATCH: USC-CAL game delayed by student protest on the field over a suspended professor

USC-Cal game delayed to protest (Images via Fox College Football/ X)

On Saturday, the USC Trojans, led by their star quarterback Caleb Williams, took on UC Berkley in a Pac-12 showdown. The game between two conference rivals, which took place at California Memorial Stadium, was shockingly delayed by some students protesting on the mid-field over a suspended professor named Ivonne del Valle.

Just after the coin toss, some protestors rushed the field and sat on the midfield while wearing shirts that read  “Justice for Ivonne.” They sat right on the midfield, on top of Cal’s logo. Initially, players, coaches, and everyone in the stadium were confused as to what the protestors’ agenda was.

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Some people thought the protest was related to the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine. But later, OC Register reporter Luca Evans reported that the protest was related to a professor named Ivonne Del Valle, whose suspension has become a controversy on the UC campus.

FS Video

Nonetheless, the protestors were handcuffed by the authorities, who were removed from the field and eventually from the California Memorial Stadium. The protest caused a 15-minute delay to the start of the USC-Cal game.

The 15-minute delay to the start of the game did not stop USC and Cal from putting on a show on Saturday. UC Berkley went toe-to-toe with Caleb Williams and the No.24 ranked USC Trojans. Both teams put on an offensive showdown and scored a combined 99 points in the game.

In the end, a failed 2-point end during the final seconds of the fourth quarter led USC to secure a hard-fought victory against their conference rivals. The future first-round NFL draft pick Caleb had a bounce-back game as he threw for 369 yards and 2 touchdowns while rushing for 2 more TDs.

What was the protest that delayed USC-Cal game on Saturday about?

As previously mentioned, the protest that caused a 15-minute delay to Saturday’s game between USC and Cal was about the suspended professor Ivonne del Valle. But why was she suspended?

USC CAL protest USC Trojans UC Berkley Caleb Williams
Protestors getting escorted out (Image via AP)

According to reports, the professor was suspended over stalking allegations. Del Valle was suspended back in 2021 after she continuously harassed and stalked Joshua Cover, an English and Comparative Literature professor at UC Davis. She also reportedly violated orders not to contact Cover.

There is reportedly a growing support in the campus for Ivonne del Valle, a suspended Spanish and Portuguese professor. After their somewhat of a successful protest during the USC-Cal game, the protestors are now planning to conduct a hunger strike if she’s not reinstated.

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