Mizzou Football Players Help Push Prez Wolfe Out the Door
By Ken Reed
University of Missouri president Tim Wolfe has resigned amid protests on the Missouri campus regarding his handling of racially-charged incidents. The protests included a hunger strike by a Missouri student, boycott of all football activities by Missouri football players, and a call for a class walkout by Missouri professors.
Dan Wetzel, in my opinion the best sports columnist in the United States, had a great take on the situation at Mizzou in his Sunday column.
While admitting he didn’t know all the particulars of the situation at the University of Missouri, he praised the football players for being engaged college students and getting involved in campus issues, rather than choosing isolation and seclusion in the school’s football facility.
“The athletes of color on the University of Missouri football team truly believe ‘Injustice Anywhere is a threat to Justice Everywhere,'” the football players said in a statement.
“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.”
Missouri football coach, Gary Pinkel, supported his players and canceled all football activities on Sunday.
“The Mizzou Family stands as one,” Pinkel wrote. “We are united. We are behind our players.”
Without praising their actions directly, Wetzel praised the players’ and Pinkel’s involvement and courage to stand up for what they believe is right.
“Good that the (Missouri) players feel they can act like college students should – free to participate in campus protest if they choose,” wrote Wetzel. “And it’s 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.
“The Missouri players are part of the fray, part of the place. They may be right. They may be wrong. They may be imprecise. They may one day look back with pride. They may one day look back with embarrassment. It doesn’t matter because that’s college. That’s exactly what college is supposed to be, even if you’re a big-shot football player. Maybe even especially.”
Right on Dan Wetzel. And right on Missouri football players and Coach Gary Pinkel.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #22 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Rethinking Sports Fandom with Author Craig Calcaterra – We discuss Calcaterra’s new book “Rethinking Fandom: How to Beat the Sports-Industrial Complex at Its Own Game” and explore new ways to be a fan in the year 2022.
Listen on Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Anchor and others.
Follow on Facebook: @SportsForumPodcast
More Episodes on Apple Podcasts; Spotify; Google Podcasts; PocketCasts; & Anchor
Episode #21 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Chatting About a Broken Game With Baseball Writer Pedro Moura – Moura is a national baseball writer for Fox Sports. We discuss how and why the game of baseball is broken, what factors caused it, and offer a few thoughts on how to “fix” a great game.
Episode #20 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Coaching Youth and High School Sports Based On What’s Best for the Athlete’s Holistic Development – We chat with long-time youth, high school and college basketball coach Jim Huber.
Episode #19 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Capturing the Spirit of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League with Anika Orrock – We discuss the hoops AAGPFL women had to jump through to play the game they loved as well as the long-term impact and legacy they have in advancing sports opportunities for girls and women.
Episode #18 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Talking about the 50th Anniversary of Title IX and the Lia Thomas Controversy with Nancy Hogshead-Makar – Hogshead-Makar is a triple gold medalist in swimming, a civil rights attorney and CEO of Champion Women.
Episode #17 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Talking Sports With Legendary New York Times Sports Columnist Robert Lipsyte – We chat about Lipsyte’s amazing career and some of the athletes he covered.
Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- League of Fans Sports Policy Director Ken Reed quoted in Washington Post column titled "What happened to P.E.? It’s losing ground in our push for academic improvement," by Jay Mathews
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
Books