Why University of Missouri Football Team Perfectly Exemplifies the Power of Student Athletes

“These concerns must be addressed to ensure the University of Missouri is a place where all students can pursue their dreams in an environment of respect, tolerance and inclusion,” Nixon said in a statement.

With growing campus tensions and an angered football team who is set to host Brigham Young on Saturday, President Tim Wolfe announced Monday that he was stepping down from his position.

“This is not, I repeat, not, the way change should come about,” Wolfe said.

While Wolfe’s resignation was needed, he is right that change should not have come about in this manner. As university leader, Wolfe should have addressed the cries of students months ago when African American student Payton Head, who is the Student’s Association president said he was racially abused while walking. Or when a student yelled the N-word at members of the Legion of Black Collegians while they were on campus rehearsing for a play. And drastic leadership measures should have been taken when recently smeared feces in the shape of a swastika was found on the bathroom wall in a residence hall.

The result of all these incidents and more is what led Butler to take a stand. Yet it wasn’t until a week after the grad student went without food and less than 48 hours after the entire football team stood behind him that real change took place.

The unified efforts of Mizzou’s football team is a prime example of how student athletes are really a school’s most prized possession because of the price tag placed behind them. In 2014, Mizzou’s athletics department made more than $24 million in ticket sales, providing a glimpse of how much money a missed game would have caused the university. Since it’s clear that hitting the pockets of these institutions is the only way to generate real change, it will be interesting to see what impact both student and professional athletes can have if they took a unified stand against other social issues that are affecting our communities.