Missouri's black football players announced Saturday night that they no longer will participate in football activities until university president Tim Wolfe either resigns or is removed from his post. These Tigers started their protest on the heels of increased racial tensions that have bubbled up on Missouri's campus, most recently involving an incident on Oct. 24 when a swastika carved with smeared feces was put up on the wall of a new dormitory.
Sophomore defensive back Anthony Sherrils tweeted out the following statement along with a picture of Missouri's black players standing together, arms linked.
"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!!!!!"
Redshirt junior cornerback John Gibson III made sure to point out that the issue is solely with the school's president and not coach Gary Pinkel or any of Mizzou's assistants. "Has nothing to do with our coaches. Our coaches are 100% behind us. Including the white ones," he tweeted.
Missouri athletic department spokesman Chad Moller released the following statement to the media Saturday night:
"The department of athletics is aware of the declarations made tonight by many of our student-athletes. We all must come together with leaders from across our campus to tackle these challenging issues and we support our student-athletes right to do so."
Thirty-two players are pictured in the above image. The Tigers fell Thursday night to Mississippi State and are scheduled to take on BYU at home next Saturday.
Since September, there have been multiple incidents linked to racism on Missouri's campus, and this group is targeting the school president because of what protesters see as a lack of appropriate response by Wolfe and the university.
One graduate student, Jonathan L. Butler, began a hunger strike this past Monday in protest of Wolfe and the university; the movement has grown since. Now, Mizzou's black football players have joined, refusing to step on the field until Wolfe is removed.
Wolfe released a statement through the school Saturday night, addressing Butler's hunger strike and growing racial tensions on campus but not referring to the players' protest.
Today I again had the opportunity to meet with MU graduate student Jonathan Butler who continues a hunger strike protesting the inequalities, inequities, and obstacles faced by students, faculty and staff at the University of Missouri. I am very concerned about Jonathan's health. His voice for social justice is important and powerful. He is being heard and I am listening. I am thankful for the leadership provided by him and the other student leaders in raising awareness of racism, injustice, and intolerance. This afternoon I also met with representatives of several student groups and I value their input and hear their voices.
Racism does exist at our university and it is unacceptable. It is a long-standing, systemic problem which daily affects our family of students, faculty and staff. I am sorry this is the case. I truly want all members of our university community to feel included, valued and safe.
