On Saturday night, 32 Missouri football players announced they would not participate in any football-related activities until university system president Tim Wolfe is removed from his job. The action of the 32 players thrust the university into the national spotlight, and pulled back the curtain on what had been transpiring for the past two weeks and beyond.

On Oct. 24, a swastika was scrawled in excrement on the wall of a dorm hall. It was the latest in a series of racist incidents at Missouri. The swastika prompted Jonathan L. Butler – a 25-year-old graduate student – to go on a hunger strike. Butler is still on that strike, refusing to consume anything but water until Wolfe resigns or is fired. Butler and a quickly rising number of students blame Wolfe for inadequately responding to the ongoing racism at Missouri.

These players will also ultimately force Wolfe into a decision, not because it’s the right thing for the president to do, but because if the team forfeits its game against BYU on Saturday, Missouri will have to pay its opponent $1 million for breaking their contract.

The players realized that their fellow student’s humanity wasn’t enough to inspire Missouri’s leadership to action, but money would be. They don’t get paid, but most NCAA athletes know what they’re worth.

Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel knows what his team is worth to the school as well. Over 15 seasons at the university, Pinkel’s teams have played in the postseason 10 times, and won two SEC East titles. He’s taken to the football program to new heights under his watch.

With his 2015 season at risk, where did Pinkel stand with his team’s decision to strike? Right beside them.

He shared a simple message and a powerful photo, capturing his team united in their defiance of the administration – Pinkel’s bosses.

A cynic will wonder whether the players or Pinkel would have chosen this path had the Tigers been 8-1 instead of 4-5 at this juncture. Others will say the coach didn’t have any choice but to support his players. Those cynics are justified, and may even have a point in whatever hypothetical scenario they choose to lay out.

The fact is, Missouri is in the midst of a rebuilding season. Whatever they do on the football field will pale in comparison to the impact they just made off it. Pinkel has allowed his players to make their own decisions, to witness the fallout, and experience the consequences. It’s what any good leader of people should do. By listening to his players and taking action, Pinkel is showing an example of how leadership can succeed while the leadership above him actively fails.

There is righteous anger in Missouri. There is a student body demanding justice and equality. There is need for strong leadership and decisive action. If that action doesn’t come from Wolfe it will come from Pinkel and his players. It’s commendable. It’s brave. It’s necessary.