During last weekend's football game between Penn State and the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota mascot, Goldy Gopher, mocked Penn State defensive lineman Jerome Hayes as he prayed in the endzone before the game started.  See The Christian Post.

A video of the incident, which you may view below, has been making the rounds on YouTube and other sites, and shows Goldy kneeling opposite Hayes and then pretending to be upset and cry when Hayes doesn't shake his hand.  Goldy then gets a fist bump from a Minnesota cheerleader.

In comments to the school’s Daily Collegian newspaper, Hayes later said he didn’t see Goldy until after he finished praying but said the mascot was indeed mocking his prayer.

"I didn't see him because I cover my face," Hayes said. "He was mocking my prayer. When I got up, I didn't hear what he said, but he tried to shake my hand. But I wasn't trying to have any of that before the game."

Now a spokesman for the University of Minnesota is apologizing for the incident, saying that the school has reiterated to Goldy the importance of exercising appropriate religious sensitivity in the future.

"It certainly wasn't his intent to offend anyone or trivialize their religion," stated Dan Wolter, director of the university’s news service, days after the incident.

“On behalf of Goldy and the University of Minnesota, I want to apologize to the Penn State player involved and anyone else who may have taken offense from this incident,” he added in a statement.

 “The life of a mascot at a sporting event is fast-paced and enormously high-energy. This was plainly a mistake,” he stated.

By the way, Penn State won the game, which was their homecoming, 20-0.