Missouri football players pressure school leaders over race (link fixed)

Last edited Sun Nov 8, 2015, 03:32 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: AP

By SUMMER BALLENTINE and ALAN SCHER ZAGIER

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Student protests over the way leaders of the University of Missouri have responded to racially charged incidents escalated dramatically over the weekend when 32 black football players announced they will not participate in team activities until the president is removed.

In their statement, the players did not say explicitly whether they would boycott the team's three remaining games this season. Missouri won the SEC East title in 2013 and 2014 but is unranked this year with a 4-5 record.

The statement, issued Saturday night and tweeted by several members of the team, aligns them with campus groups, including one called Concerned Student 1950, that have been protesting the way President Tim Wolfe has handled matters of race and discrimination on campus.

Student groups have complained that the use of racial slurs is prevalent on the campus. Last spring, a swastika was found in a Missouri dormitory, and officials said last month they were investigating another act of vandalism that targeted minorities.

FULL story at link.


In this Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015, photo, members of the Legion of Black Collegian and the Concerned Student 1950 supporters gather outside the Reynolds Alumni Center after an emotional protest on the University of Missouri campus, in Columbia, Mo. Some campus groups have been protesting the way university president Tim Wolfe has dealt with issues of racial harassment during the school year. Jonathan Butler, a black graduate student, is on a hunger strike to call attention to the issue. Missouri football players announced Saturday night on Twitter that they will not participate in team activities until the university president is removed from office. (Ellise Verheyen/Missourian via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/caef38a428f445db81250abe1a1a1dce/missouri-students-football-players-pressure-school-leaders