University of Missouri president, Timothy M. Wolfe, resigned from his position early Monday morning. The move came on the heels of weeks of protest by black students on the campus of Missouri over the consistent mistreatment and racial abuse they have sustained on campus over the years. The movement was called “Concerned Students 1950” which refers to the first year the university integrated African Americans into their school.

The activist group was formed to fight back against the racial hostility that has been allowed to persist on the University of Missouri’s campus without any response or plan of action. Since Head posted on Facebook about his incident, protesters have organized “Racism Lives Here” rallies and peaceful demonstrations from Concerned Student 1950.

Black students had been complaining about intolerance and the apathy that the school administration had shown in the face of this injustice. The tension has been building for years, as is the case for all social movements. Missouri is also the home of Ferguson, where the Mike Brown incident happened and ensuing protests occurred last summer which spilled into baseball and football events in near-by St. Louis.

Organizers had set up meetings with the university president in October, which led to no sort of agreement between the two sides. This only lead to more resentment on behalf of black students towards the Missouri leadership. African Americans make up about seven percent of the student population according to their most recent figures. This is a big reason why black students felt like they weren’t being listened to by their administration and why the bigotry was allowed to run rampant on campus. Concerned students were frustrated by the negligence and dismissal of their complaints. So much so that they even followed him around campus looking for answers to their concerns and asking for solutions to improve the situation.

One graduate student even went on a hunger strike as part of the cause. The 25-year old Jonathan Butler wrote a letter to the Missouri Board of Curators specifying his form of protest and the reasons he felt forced him to do so. “During this hunger strike, I will not consume any food or nutritional sustenance at the expense of my health until either Tim Wolfe is removed from office or my internal organs fail and my life is lost,” he wrote. This was the level of emotion felt among the students at Missouri. Even some faculty members joined in protest, planning a walk-out on campus in a demonstration of support for black students seeking just treatment and acknowledgement of the problem.

Jonathon Butler speaking to fellow protestors.

All these demonstrations, though impassioned and inspired, were not accomplishing the goal in mind. The effort and organization being shown by Missouri students and faculty was going unheard, which was part of the problem and the cause for so much of their anger. The straw that broke the camel’s back for this racial tension was the university football team stepping into the equation. This movement did not get the attention of media or the national headlines until the players spoke out, releasing a statement to the media. Football is the most popular sport in America and on college campuses, meaning a lot of eye balls follow what the players in the sport do and say. When black players on the team sent out a picture on social media showing solidarity with “Concerned Students 1950” people took notice. All of a sudden the students had the leverage they needed for their demands.

The predominately white University of Missouri may have not cared about how black people and other minorities were being treated, but they do care about watching football. It is a massive revenue generator for colleges, so this was the bargaining tool the students were looking for to get real change. African American football players planned to boycott practices and upcoming games if president Wolfe did not resign.

Missouri had a game the following Saturday against BYU, Brigham Young University, and would have to forfeit if players boycotted. This would cost the school 1 million dollars in the form of a fine for missing the scheduled NCAA game, which they would pay to BYU. The coaching staff showed support to the players who chose to protest. Head Coach Gary Pinkel stated that “it was about supporting my players.” The coaching staff gave more legitimacy to boycott and unified the team, when there were whispers by anonymous sources that not all players were in favor of the move.

Coaching Staff supporting players right to boycott.

Once the economic pressure was placed upon the the University of Missouri, they had no choice but to concede. The television , radio and endorsement contracts involved with the football team would have all suffered if this boycott had occurred. The business aspect of sports forced Missouri hand and President Wolfe into stepping down. Though not all the players on the team were in agreement with the boycott, they had enough influence to push the movement to its finality. The embarrassment and attention on the story would have continued to increase nationwide. University administration didn’t care about black students until there was money at stake, then they finally began to listen.

It wasn’t until the football players, who could have stayed out of it for fear of the consequences, joined the protest that progress was made. These players have laid out a blue-print for others who wish to enact change on campus or society. This is only part of the ongoing civil rights movement in America and student-athletes at major college programs can play a big role in it. They have tremendous power over their schools and the NCAA, being the backbone of a billion-dollar industry known as college athletics. Sports can effect social change.

Update: There has been a lot of tension on campus and surrounding area since President Wolfe stepped down. Threats have been made at activists via social media, which have led to increased security by police. Some students reported seeing threatening men on campus, though the specific level of threat is unconfirmed at this time.