Thirty University of Missouri football players announced they will boycott practice and games until the president of the school resigns.
The controversy erupted when a swastika made of feces was smeared on a wall. Minority students on campus are outraged at the conduct of the president, Tim Wolfe. Not because he defended the racist act, but because in the opinion of most minority students on campus, he wasn’t sufficiently outraged.
Wolfe’s response to a series of racist incidents has been considered inadequate by many students who believe racism has poisoned the campus. A graduate student, Jonathan Butler, announced earlier in the week he was going on a hunger strike until Wolfe was removed. The most recent racist incident came Oct. 24 when a swastika was drawn with human feces on a college dorm’s white wall.
Sophomore defensive back Anthony Sherrils tweeted: “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!!!!!!”
Several more African-American players, including senior running back and team captain Russell Hansbrough, followed with a series of passionate tweets. Missouri’s student body is 77% white and 7% black, while 58 of the school’s 84 scholarship football players are African-American.
Missouri’s athletic department issued a statement saying it’s “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.”
Wolfe is being targeted because he didn’t roll over and grovel before the high priests of political correctness. He expressed his disgust at the racist incidents and pledged to try to eradicate such acts from campus. What the hell more did the activists want? They wanted him to declare the university a hot bed of racism and all minority students victims. Since Wolfe has refused to exaggerate the problem to suit the activists, he will probably lose his job.
Many of the activists cite Wolfe’s actions while he rode in the homecoming parade in October. A group of radicals linked arms in front of his car and screamed at him, chanting incoherently. Wolfe sat stoically in the car which the activists have chosen to interpret as indifference. My guess is he didn’t want to provoke the demonstrators further.
Wolfe is to become a victim of a power play. He is being targeted for no other reason than the activists’ belief they can get him fired, regardless of the reason. Their actions will no doubt have an effect on other campuses which will become more restrictive and oppressive as a result.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member