Protesters take the field, delaying the start of the football game between Cal and USC in Berkeley, Calif. on Saturday, October 28, 2023.
Grant Marek/SFGATEThe start of the Cal vs. USC football game in Berkeley was delayed on Saturday, Oct. 28, due to protestors who took to midfield and refused to move.
At first, law enforcement appeared unsure how to extract the protesters from the field.
Video posted by Fox College Football showed USC quarterback Caleb Williams and Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza waiting on the sidelines as the protests occupied the area near the 50-yard line.
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Eventually, the protesters were led off in handcuffs, according to photos posted on social media by Scanner Berkeley.
SFGATE Editor in Chief Grant Marek, who was in attendance at the game as a spectator, said the contest was able to begin after about an eight-minute delay.
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KQED’s Holly J. McDede noted before the game that students were planning on protesting del Valle’s suspension.
The football game protest comes just three days after over 400 UC Berkeley students walked out of class in solidarity with Palestine amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. It led some on social media to speculate that the protest was over the incident, though that does not appear to be the case.