Black Missouri football players are refusing to play until their president resigns

Fans cheer on the University of Missouri Tigers at Memorial Stadium
(Image credit: Ed Zurga/Getty Images)

More than 30 football players at the University of Missouri said Saturday they refuse to play in any practices or games until Tim Wolfe, the system president, resigns or is terminated, SB Nation reports. The athletes, many of whom are black, are boycotting as part of a larger movement on campus to protest recent racial issues.

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A student group has been pushing for Wolfe's resignation since at least October, arguing his response to race-related incidents on campus has been insufficient. A graduate student protester who was struck by Wolfe's car at a homecoming parade announced he would go on a hunger strike Nov. 2.

In one recent incident, a swastika drawn in human feces was found on a dorm wall, USA Today reports.

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"The department of athletics is aware of the declarations made tonight by many of our student-athletes," a Mizzou spokesperson said in a statement. "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."

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.