Univ. of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe resigned this morning "amid a controversy regarding race relations at the school," including members of the football team refusing to play or practice until Wolfe's ouster, according to Pearson & Sutton of CNN.com. The players' move was the "latest salvo in a spiraling debate over the experience of African-American students at Missouri, who have complained of inaction on the part of school leaders in dealing with racism on the overwhelmingly white campus" (CNN.com, 11/9). ESPN’s John Barr was in the room when Wolfe made his announcement to resign, noting people "were stunned” and there was an “audible gasp as he made that announcement.” Barr: “He did a very sudden about-face this morning really before the Board of Curators even had a chance to meet. It was the first order of business, his statement, then they went into closed session and just expanding on some of the things the president said” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 11/9). In Columbia, David Morrison reports Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel yesterday tweeted a photo of the team and its coaches "locking arms" after black players "joined the Concerned Student 1950 protest effort Saturday night." Pinkel in his tweet wrote, "The Mizzou Family stands as one. We are united." While the players' tweet announcing the boycott Saturday night "included only black players," Pinkel's tweet "included what appeared to be most of the team" with numerous white Missouri players. The team "met at the Mizzou Athletics Training Complex for a little more than 90 minutes" yesterday morning, and the meeting "adjourned around the time Pinkel sent out his tweet" (COLUMBIA DAILY TRIBUNE, 11/9).
SATURDAY'S GAME SEEMS BACK ON: Missouri RB Trevon Walters today said the school is "for sure playing" Saturday against BYU at Arrowhead Stadium. Walters said, "More than football, more than scholarships, I'm just happy our Athletic Department was behind us." He added that the team would have "gone through with the walkout ... even if the Tigers were 10-0 and in contention for the college football playoffs" (COLUMBIAMISSOURIAN.com, 11/9). In Columbia, Bogage, Reiss & Selig report the contract for the game states if one school has to cancel, it "must pay the other school" $1M in damages. The contract also "allows for 'mutual agreement' to cancel game, and the defaulting party would not pay for damages." National College Players Association Founder Ramogi Huma yesterday said that his organization "was not involved in the players' decision to boycott." Huma: "I’m not surprised about players using their position to bring justice. I think it’s natural" (Columbia MISSOURIAN, 11/9).
PINKEL'S POSITION: USA TODAY's Dan Wolken writes Pinkel has never "done something that will reverberate more both within the world of college football and outside of it than Tweeting that picture." He has "essentially told the world he stood with his players and, by proxy, that his boss should be fired." Wolken: "Plenty of cynical hypotheticals were thrown around the social media sphere on Sunday. Would players have done this if Missouri was 8-1 instead of 4-5? Could Pinkel really stand on the opposite side of players without risking a mutiny? If he showed anything but total support for this movement, would recruiting be impacted forever? None of those questions or motives really matter." Pinkel's endorsement of the team's position "means Missouri's players are going to learn exactly the kind of lessons college is supposed to teach." Whether their stance is "justified or not, they are learning about the impact they can have and the potential fallout of their actions" (USA TODAY, 11/9). In St. Louis, Dave Matter in a front-page piece notes Pinkel’s tweet "created a stir throughout social media platforms but left more questions than answers." Matter: "Was the photo Pinkel’s tacit approval of the players’ strike? Are Pinkel and his coaches also demanding that Wolfe step down? Will the players and coaches resume team activities any time soon?" Missouri TE Jason Reese said that the team was "originally scheduled to practice Sunday but decided not to practice." Asked when the team would resume practicing, Reese said, "After this gets resolved" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 11/9).
LIVING IN THE LIMELIGHT: In N.Y., Tracy & Southall in a front-page piece write the Missouri players' strike reflects a "growing willingness among black college students at predominantly white institutions to demand quick action and stronger responses from officials to reports of racial antagonism." A prolonged strike "could have costly consequences for the players, some of whom depend on athletic scholarships, and the university, which draws revenue from ticket sales and the sale of television distribution rights" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/9). Missouri student Abigail Hollis, a member of the Concerned Student 1950 group, said that having the football team as an ally meant the group's cause and graduate student Jonathan Butler's hunger strike "would have monetary implications, in addition to gaining the nation's attention" (USA TODAY, 11/9). In DC, Maese & Babb in a front-page piece write the Missouri football team is "perhaps the most popular -- and certainly most visible -- student group on campus," so the players’ decision drew the "national spotlight to a series of incidents that had cast an ominous cloud over the school’s fall semester" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/9).
THE FULL COLLEGE EXPERIENCE: In N.Y., William Rhoden writes the players' protest is "exhilarating because it is the most high-profile example to date in a continuing revolution in which the athletes who drive the multibillion-dollar college sports machine have begun to use their visibility to demand change." They are "in a position to affect the outcome," and "therin lies their power." Rhoden: "Good for them" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/9). USA Today's Christine Brennan said, "For the first time in quite some time, in decades frankly, we are seeing sports lead the way on issues of civil disobedience" (“World News,” ABC, 11/8). YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote it is "good that the players feel they can act like college students should -- free to participate in campus protest if they choose." It is also a "good thing their coach is willing to support them, that they aren't just hired guns, and winning games isn't their sole purpose for being in school" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 11/8). In Orlando, Matt Murschel writes the impact of football players at a school in a major conference like the SEC effectively going on strike "could be far-reaching." Murschel: "Role models and leaders stand up and fight for justice and why should we expect any less from college football players? We should be commending them, not condemning them like so many people have done in the comments sections of articles and on social media sites" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 11/9).
