Black members of the University of Missouri Tigers football team announced Saturday evening that they are going on strike.
These players joined the #ConcernedStudent1950 movement which is centered around students believing that the university has not done enough to tackle alleged racial incidents on the Columbia, Mo. campus. The school’s Legion of Black Collegians released a statement via Twitter on behalf of the athletes of color:
“The athletes of color on the University of Missouri football team truly believe ‘Injustice Anywhere is a threat to Justice Everywhere.’ We will no longer participate in any football related activities until President Tim Wolfe resigns or is removed due to his negligence toward marginalized students’ experiences. WE ARE UNITED!!!!!”
We are no longer taking it. It's time to fight. #ConcernedStudent1950 #MizzouHungerStrike pic.twitter.com/mnPZBviqJF
— The Legion of Black Collegians (@MizzouLBC) November 8, 2015
While 60 of the 124 players of the Tigers football team are black, it is still unclear exactly how many agreed to join the boycott. The student-athletes seem to be receiving support from fellow teammates and coaching staff. University of Missouri Athletics also released a statement in response to the boycott:
“The department of athletics is aware of the declarations made tonight by many of our student-athletes. We must come together with leaders from across our campus to tackle these challenging issues and we support our athletes right to do so.”
According to reports, the racial climate at Mizzou has been heightened for months. One of these incidents includes Missouri Students Association president Payton Head being called the N-word when walking around campus back in mid-September. There have been other claims of racial slurs being used toward Black students and even the discovery of a swastika made of feces in a residence hall.
On October 21, Concerned Student 1950 released their statement of demands which included a formal apology from President Wolfe and his removal from office. Wolfe is president of the University of Missouri System which includes four universities: University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Missouri- Kansas City,University of Missouri-St. Louis and Missouri S&T.
The protests and boycotts gained attention when Missouri graduate student Jonathan Butler sent a letter to the university’s System Board of Curators on Nov. 2. Butler announced that he would be on a hunger strike until Wolfe was removed from office.
The last time collegiate football players went on strike was in 2013. Players at Grambling State University protested poor working conditions. Before that, players on Howard University’s football team boycotted a game because of the university’s inability to provide them food.
With the involvement of the football players, this story is gaining national attention from outlets like NBC News, USA TODAY, and Sports Illustrated. This might provide the necessary pressure on President Wolfe to come out from the shadows and make a change.
Mizzou’s next game is Nov. 14 against Brigham Young University. The Tigers are supposed to host the Cougars in a SEC televised game.
[…] it became hard to ignore when the school’s football team announced it would boycott all football activities, including games if it went that long, until university president Time Wolfe was removed from […]