The Missouri football team stood up to protest the mishandling of student complaints of race and discrimination on their campus. The students and faculty protested but it was the football team that put this story in to the national headlines by refusing to play if the president did not resign. I was shocked when I first saw it on ESPN as I was watching the University of Washington vs Utah highlights.
I knew that something had to be done because the football team makes too much money. Specifically, the University of Missouri football team generated over $35 million dollars in revenue for the school last year. Not included in that is the amount donated by the booster club, how a winning football team drives more students to apply for the school, and recruiting. With all this turmoil going on, it is hard for their coaches to attract new talent, especially student athletes of color and the team will not be as competitive on the field thus not earning more money for the University of Missouri.
It took a lot of courage for those football players and their head coach to take such a stand because forfeiting games is not easy. Their post season would have been affected negatively and playing football is the main reason why they are at the University of Missouri. There are a lot of causes and issues that are more important than football and it is great to see young athletes using their platform to stand up for something they believe in. As a former college football player I remember really trying to put all my focus into football, especially during the season. There are always a lot of things going on and you just try to avoid all the parties and other activities on campus because they are distracting. In some cases, like what the University of Missouri is going through, things cannot be ignored.
I never realized the power we as a team had while I was going through my years in college. One can only hope that other football teams will take notice of the power they possess and stand up for worthy causes that only their stance can make. It has been long debated that football players should be paid above and beyond a scholarship because of the revenue the team generates. The opposition argues they are students and should be treated as such. You can clearly see that they are not just students. It was these football players that forced the issue in order for something to be done because the school will not lose out on the potential revenue it would have lost. The national media would have never picked up this story and the president of the University of Missouri would have not resigned if the football team did not stand together and refuse to play. This will unite the team and hopefully the school so they can move forward and have a successful remainder of the season and start the healing process on campus.
Sincerely,
Donny Mateaki
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