Duke fan mocks Flint water crisis with sign at basketball game against MSU

Impact

Contaminated water in Flint, Michigan, has left thousands of residents with lead poisoning and limited access to clean water for eating, drinking and bathing.

And one Duke University fan saw this humanitarian crisis as ripe for trash talk fodder during a basketball game against Michigan State University on Tuesday. 

According to the News & Observer, a fan in the student section at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, held a sign that read: "The water tastes better in North Carolina." 

MSU star freshman guard Miles Bridges is from Flint, the paper noted. 

Al Goldis/AP

Duke spokesman Cory Walton condemned the sign in a statement to ESPN:

Everyone in our program thinks the sign was reprehensible and disgusting. That's 100 percent not in line with the values of our program. Michigan State officials said the sign referenced a difficult situation for people throughout their state.

MSU similarly reacted to the fan's sign, adding "We understand the actions of an individual student do not reflect the beliefs of Duke University or its athletic department."

This isn't the first time Flint has been mocked by students in the name of sports. A photo posted to Twitter Saturday showed a group of Ohio State football fans standing in front of a sign that read "Michigan girls: more diseased than Flint water."