Missouri football players to boycott until president Tim Wolfe resigns

Scott Gleeson | USA TODAY Sports

Show Caption Hide Caption Mizzou football players go on strike over 'injustice' Members of the University of Missouri football team say they "will no longer participate in any football related activities until President Tim Wolfe resigns or is removed." Wolfe has been criticized for his response to student concerns over racism.

More than 30 football players at the University of Missouri will not participate in any practices or games until Missouri System president Tim Wolfe resigns or is terminated. Several black team members announced their decision to strike on social media Saturday night and Missouri's Legion of Black Collegians posted a statement on behalf of the team with a picture of players unified in support of the boycott.

Wolfe's response to a series of racist incidents has been considered inadequate by many students who believe racism has poisoned the campus. A graduate student, Jonathan Butler, announced earlier in the week he was going on a hunger strike until Wolfe was removed. The most recent racist incident came Oct. 24 when a swastika was drawn with human feces on a college dorm's white wall.

We're black. Black is powerful. Our struggle may look different, but we are all #ConcernedStudent1950 pic.twitter.com/obCjSWCFVY — HeMadeAKing (@1Sherrils_2MIZZ) November 8, 2015

Sophomore defensive back Anthony Sherrils tweeted: "The athletes of color on the University of Missouri football team truly believe "Injustice Anywhere is a threat to Justice Everywhere" 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. WE ARE UNITED!!!!!!"

Several more African-American players, including senior running back and team captain Russell Hansbrough, followed with a series of passionate tweets. Missouri’s student body is 77% white and 7% black, while 58 of the school’s 84 scholarship football players are African-American.

Never thought I would be in place or time like this to actually make a difference. — Russell Hansbrough (@imthatnike) November 8, 2015

Missouri's athletic department issued a statement saying it's "aware of the declarations made tonight by many of our student-athletes. 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."

Junior cornerback John Gibson tweeted that the Tigers' coaching staff and white teammates were also in support of the strike. And offensive lineman Paul Adams, a white player, expressed his support publicly on Twitter.

@EdgeofSports has nothing to do with our coaches. Our coaches are 100% behind us. Including the white ones — John Gibson III (@thatgibsonkid) November 8, 2015

Nothin but respect for my brothers... I love y'all — Paul Adams (@PaulAdams64) November 8, 2015

In the 15 months since African-American teenager Michael Brown was fatally shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., universities around the country have become home to protests. Missouri's campus in Columbia sits about two hours west of Ferguson.

Wolfe is the president for the Missouri System, which consists of four universities: University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou), University of Missouri-St. Louis, Missouri S&T and University of Missouri Kansas City. Missouri's chancellor is R. Bowen Loftin.

Wolfe issued a statement apologizing for his reaction at Missouri's homecoming parade when the ConcernedStudent1950 group approached his car. "My behavior seemed like I did not care. That was not my intention. I was caught off guard in the moment," he wrote. "I am asking us to move forward in addressing the racism that exists at our university — and it does exist."

The most recent previous strike in college football came at Grambling State in 2013 when players protested for poor working conditions.

Missouri lost Thursday to Mississippi State, 31-13. Its next slated game is Nov. 14 against BYU.