Fans hoping for an afternoon of drama-free college football at the USC-Cal game were in for a rude awakening Saturday when protesters took to the 50-yard line and sat in two lines back to back - and wouldn't budge.

Video footage shows the protesters at midfield ahead of what was supposed to be the 1 p.m. left coast starting time between the two teams. The below clip shows security nearby not doing much other than trying to control the scene:

The USC vs Cal game is delayed due to a protest at the 50-yard line pic.twitter.com/2XQ8IQlVXB

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 28, 2023

...but when a man in a yellow jacket walked up and started ripping signs away, the crowd began to cheer:

There are protestors of some sort sitting at midfield refusing to move so the game can start … #USC-Cal pic.twitter.com/wCUonKVNMg

— Ryan Young (@RyanYoungRivals) October 28, 2023

Some social media netizens declared that the protesters were Hamas sympathizers who wanted to join in on the "ceasefire" demands we've seen at other radical demonstrations around the country. It would make sense, seeing as though this is Berkeley we're talking about here. I mean it is not called "Berzerkeley" for nothing.

But as it turns out, the protesters were reportedly there for another reason -- to show support for a faculty member who was suspended for allegedly stalking another professor:

While it was not immediately clear what the protest was over, Luca Evans of the Orange County Register wrote on social media that a policeman told him the protests were over the suspension of UC Berkeley professor Ivonne del Valle, who is accused of stalking and harassing another professor. 

KQED’s Holly J. McDede noted before the game that students were planning on protesting del Valle’s suspension. 

And just in case anyone might think the students' cause was noble and just, you might wanna rethink that:

“Professor del Valle isn’t just any faculty member, she’s the top expert in colonial studies,” said Emily Chamale, a second year UC Berkeley student, at a protest last month. “The question that haunts me is: If someone as respected as her is going through such things at Berkeley, what might the future be for the rest of us?”

But records obtained by KQED paint a troubling picture of what led to del Valle’s suspension. Over three investigations, which looked into behavior that began in 2018 and continued through 2022, the university found del Valle had repeatedly harassed, stalked and retaliated against Joshua Clover, an English and Comparative Literature professor at UC Davis, and then violated orders not to contact him.

Make sure to read the full disturbing report on Professor del Valle here.

According to photos from the scene, the protesters were led away in handcuffs a short time after taking the field, so the game only ended up being delayed for about 10 minutes or so:

PD had removed protestors from the stadium. pic.twitter.com/XO7JgLavt8

— Scanner Berkeley (@ScanBerkeley) October 28, 2023

Police escort protestors off the field after they delayed the USC vs. Cal football game in Berkeley, Ca.

Should they be arrested? pic.twitter.com/jnXncl7f9X

— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) October 28, 2023

Supporters of the embattled professor, many of whom I also suspect were also part of the recent Berkeley walkout in support of Hamas, say they will stage a hunger strike if their demands aren't met.

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