University of Missouri black football
players pledge boycott over racism concerns
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[November 09, 2015]
By Kevin Murphy
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - Black players
on the University of Missouri football team say they will boycott
practices, meetings and games until the university dismisses its
president or he quits, contending he has not responded adequately to
concerns about racism on campus.
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The move comes as a hunger strike staged by a graduate student to
protest racism enters a second week. A majority of the 35,000
students at the university in Columbia, about 125 miles (200 km)
west of St. Louis, are white.
“The athletes of color on the University of Missouri football team
truly believe ‘injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere,’" the university’s Legion of Black Collegians said in a
statement on Twitter.
"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’ experience,” it said. More
than 30 players were in a photograph linked to the statement posted
on Saturday night.
In a statement released on Sunday afternoon, Wolfe indicated no
intention to resign but said solutions to the students' concerns
were being discussed.
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"It is clear to all of us that change is needed, and we appreciate
the thoughtfulness and passion which have gone into the sharing of
concerns," Wolfe said.
The university has been working on "a systemwide diversity and
inclusion strategy" to be released in April 2016, Wolfe said.
Protests on campus have been led by a group called
ConcernedStudent1950. It said black students had endured racial
slurs and believed white favoritism existed in many aspects of
campus life.
Racial tensions in Missouri flared last year when a white policeman
in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson killed an unarmed black teenager
and a grand jury brought no charges against him. The shooting helped
kindle national soul-searching about the treatment of blacks by law
enforcement.
In Columbia last month, activists blocked Wolfe’s car at a
homecoming parade and said he then bumped one of the protesters with
the vehicle.
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In a statement on Friday, Wolfe apologized.
“My behavior seemed like I did not care,” Wolfe said. “That was not
my intention. I was caught off-guard in that moment. Nonetheless,
had I gotten out of the car to acknowledge the students and talk
with them perhaps we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Wolfe acknowledged that racism existed on campus and vowed to
address it. Wolfe said he met with Jonathan Butler, the student on
the hunger strike. “His voice for social justice is important and
powerful,” Wolfe said in the statement.
The Missouri football team, which has won four games and lost five
this season, will play Brigham Young University next Saturday.
“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,” the athletic department said in a
statement on Saturday.
(Reporting By Kevin Murphy in Kansas City, Mo., Editing by Peter
Cooney)
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