Report: Missouri players at odds over strike
Missouri football players are not unanimous in their support of the team’s strike in response to ongoing racial strife at the school, an anonymous player told ESPN’s Brett McMurphy.
“As much as we want to say everyone is united, half the team and coaches — black and white — are pissed,” the player, who is white, said. “If we were 9-0, this wouldn't be happening.”
Mizzou’s black players announced Saturday night that they were boycotting team activities until school president Tim Wolfe was removed from office. Head coach Gary Pinkel posted a photo on Twitter earlier Sunday of the entire football team, saying the team “stands as one.” Missouri students are upset with what they believe is a lack of action on Wolfe’s part to address racist incidents on campus.
Missouri graduate student Jonathan Butlerhas been on a hunger strike since Nov. 2 and met with the football team on Saturday. According to a statement from Pinkel and athletic director Mack Rhoades, the players “do not plan to return to practice until Jonathan resumes eating.”
Mizzou plays BYU next Saturday in Kansas City.
- Dan Gartland
