Missouri President Toppled By the Power of the Student Athlete

3 minute read
By Sean Gregory
Updated: | Originally published: ;

Missouri football just earned one of the biggest wins in sports history.

On Monday Timothy Wolfe, president of the University of Missouri, resigned after weeks of student protest regarding his administration’s handling of several racially charged incidents on campus. Later in the day, the Chancellor of the school’s flagship Columbia campus, R. Bowen Loftin, announced that he would step down at the end of the year.

On Saturday, Missouri’s football team galvanized the protest, and delivered what amounted to last rites on Wolfe’s presidency: At least thirty players said they would not participate in any football-related activities until Wolfe left office. If that meant skipping the Nov. 14 game against BYU in Kansas City, so be it. The team did not practice Sunday. To show that Missouri football meant business, coach Gary Pinkel sent out a picture of the team on Twitter:

Once you’ve lost football, you’ve lost Missouri.

“Never thought I would be in place or time like this to actually make a difference,” Russell Hansbrough, a starting running back for the Missouri team, wrote on Twitter. Who can blame him for feeling some surprise? For decades, pro and college athletes largely played it safe: focus on the field, collect a paycheck — or for college kids, just appreciate that scholarship while the coaches cash millions — and stick to sports. But that was all before Ferguson and #blacklivesmatter and All Players United, a protest movement started two seasons ago demanding basic benefits and protections for college athletes, and the Northwestern football unionization push.
Now athletes realize they’re not just the entertainment. They’re not just a product of the world around them. They can shape it. Like Missouri did.

See 7 Times Student Activists Created Change

The Greensboro sit-ins, started by four black students from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, were a peaceful protest of the segregated lunch counter inside the Woolworth store in Greensboro, N.C. in February 1960. The demonstrations, which spread to nearby cities and states, eventually led to the desegregation of the Greensboro Woolworth store.
The Greensboro sit-ins, started by four black students from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, were a peaceful protest of the segregated lunch counter inside the Woolworth store in Greensboro, N.C. in February 1960. The demonstrations, which spread to nearby cities and states, eventually led to the desegregation of the Greensboro Woolworth store.The Atlanta Journal-Consitution/AP
Mark Rudd, a leader of the student protest at Columbia University in New York, speaks to reporters as fellow students, rear, occupy the Low Memorial Library on April 25, 1968. Standing on ledge, center, with hands in pockets, is Juan Gonzalez, another of the student leaders. The 1968 Columbia University Protests targeted a variety of issues, most notably the Vietnam War.
Mark Rudd, a leader of the student protest at Columbia University in New York, speaks to reporters as fellow students, rear, occupy the Low Memorial Library on April 25, 1968. Standing on ledge, center, with hands in pockets, is Juan Gonzalez, another of the student leaders. The 1968 Columbia University Protests targeted a variety of issues, most notably the Vietnam War. In the aftermath, two of the demands set by students were met: Columbia ended its ties to a controversial weapons-related think tank, and halted a plan to build a disputed gym. AP
Student Demonstrations At Harvard University Hall
Students occupy Harvard's University Hall during a demonstration on April 9, 1969. As part of the takeover, students removed all Harvard administrators from the building. A massive police raid wrested the protesters from the building, leading to over 300 arrests. The conflicts ultimately led to changes including the establishment of an Afro-American Studies department.Ted Dully—The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Kent State University students, including anti-war demonstrators, flee as National Guardsmen fire tear gas and bullets into the crowd on May 7, 1970 in Kent, Ohiot. The guardsmen killed four students and wounded nine others.
Kent State University students, including anti-war demonstrators, flee as National Guardsmen fire tear gas and bullets into the crowd on May 7, 1970 in Kent, Ohio. The guardsmen killed four students and wounded nine others. The event triggered a national student strike, escalating protests and garnering national media attention for the anti-war movement. Bettmann/Corbis
Several thousand students crowd into Sproul Plaza on the University of CaliforniaÑBerkeley campus in protest of the university's business ties with apartheid South Africa on April 16, 1985. The University of California eventually authorized the withdrawal of three billion dollars worth of investments from the apartheid state.
Several thousand students crowd into Sproul Plaza on the University of California-Berkeley campus in protest of the university's business ties with apartheid South Africa on April 16, 1985. The University of California eventually authorized the withdrawal of three billion dollars worth of investments from the apartheid state. Paul Sakuma—AP
Kerstin Cornell yells outside the office of University of Michigan President Lee Bollinger during a sit-in on March 17, 1999. Students began the sit-in to protest sweatshop conditions in factories that make licensed apparel for the school, which was the nation's leading university in the sales of licensed apparel and other goods. The university established an Anti-Sweatshop Advisory Committee that spring.\
Kerstin Cornell yells outside the office of University of Michigan President Lee Bollinger during a sit-in on March 17, 1999. Students began the sit-in to protest sweatshop conditions in factories that make licensed apparel for the school, which was the nation's leading university in the sales of licensed apparel and other goods. The university established an Anti-Sweatshop Advisory Committee that spring.Dana Linnane—The Michigan Daily/AP
Students participate in a die-in at Harvard Medical School Medical Education Center on Dec. 10, 2014. The protest was held in response to the decisions by authorities to not bring indictments in the police killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York. The Black Lives Matter movement has found support at campus's across the country.
Students participate in a die-in at Harvard Medical School Medical Education Center on Dec. 10, 2014. The protest was held in response to the decisions by authorities to not bring indictments in the police killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York. The Black Lives Matter movement has found support at campus's across the country.David L. Ryan—The Boston Globe/Getty Images

So they’re taking action. Last year, five St. Louis Rams entered the field with their hands in the “don’t shoot” pose to salute Michael Brown and the Ferguson protestors. A Cleveland Browns player wore a “Justice for Tamir Rice” shirt. LeBron James, Derrick Rose, Kevin Garnett and other NBA players donned “I Can’t Breathe” t-shirts as a show of support for Eric Garner, the African-American man from New York City who died after a white police officer placed him in a chokehold.

Such gestures call attention to social justice, and have clear impact. But the Missouri strike is historic. Two years ago the Grambling football team forfeited a game because of the substandard conditions in which they practice and played. Most major college athletes have good reason to gripe, given they still receive a minuscule piece of the exploding revenue pie they’ve helped create. The Missouri players, however, fought for something beyond themselves. They didn’t protest their lack of pay. They stood in solidarity with the student body. A fair criticism of college sports today: the athletes operate in their own silo, like a for-profit subsidiary of these educational institutions, far removed from everyday campus life. But these Missouri athletes cheered wildly for the students, rather than just the other way around.
Missouri’s football players exercised their leverage, and empowered college athletes around the country. With their 1-5 record in the powerful Southeastern Conference, the Tigers are no contenders for a national championship. They may not even make a bowl game. So what? No team in college football has ever accomplished more.

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Write to Sean Gregory at sean.gregory@time.com