Mizzou remains vigilant one year after football team’s boycott

It was one year ago that Missouri became the epicenter of the college sports world and the national discussion about race relations thanks to Anthony Sherrils’ tweet heard ‘round the world.

On the evening of Nov. 7, 2015, Sherrils announced to the world the Tigers would boycott in solidarity with Jonathan Butler, who was in the midst of a weeklong hunger strike aimed at forcing then-University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe to resign.

The message, “We’re black. Black is powerful. Our struggle may look different, but we are all #ConcernedStudent1950” and a snapshot of a statement announcing the protest was accompanied by a photo of several dozen black Mizzou football players linking arms with Butler.

The Tigers’ actions drew widespread attention and propelled the issue of race in higher education from a regional news blip into a national, and even international, nightly news topic.

It also hastened Wolfe’s resignation and that of then-MU Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, who were both gone within two days of the boycott announcement.

Sophomore right tackle Paul Adams, who lived with Kendall Blanton and Dominic Nelson, was watching football on a rare Saturday off after Mizzou played Mississippi State during a Thursday monsoon that week.

Returning from the meeting with Butler and dozens of teammates, Blanton and Nelson broke the news of the boycott.

“I was a little shocked,” Adams said. “Everyone would’ve liked to know so much more about it ahead of time rather than not fully being in the discussion. But when a brother believes in something, you want to side with him, especially getting to know more about it. We learned as much as we possibly could, and I was with them 100 percent. That’s just what brothers do for each other.”

Adams acknowledges that the entire locker room wasn’t unified, but he’s glad the team stuck together publicly, including the now-famous photo sent from Gary Pinkel’s Twitter account that included #ConcernedStudent1950.

“I’m sure a bunch of guys were angry, but I’m glad that they didn’t show it to the media and whatnot and say, ‘They might be doing this, but I’m doing my own thing,’” Adams said. “It was a situation where people might’ve kept it deep down inside, but we were unified as far as the public.”

It remains a touchy subject for many Mizzou fans, who felt embarrassed or were angered by the boycott, and the school’s administration also doesn’t want to be reminded of last year’s events.

Interim Mizzou Chancellor Hank Foley declined to provide any insight about the campus climate a year after the boycott.

“As we communicated during our September media day, Chancellor Foley and his leadership team are focused on moving the university forward and outlined that day a number of initiatives and projects underway,” his office said in an email to The Star. “To that end, we respectfully decline your request to be part of a story about last year’s events.”

The Tigers’ players, meanwhile, remain unapologetic.

“I’m not really on campus that much, so I don’t know (if it’s made a significant impact),” junior defensive end Charles Harris said. “But I don’t regret anything.”

First-year coach Barry Odom remains vigilant.

“I’d say, we’re very close as our team stands within our relationships. That’s something that, without a question, our staff continues to work on every day just like you do with your friendships (and) people you care about,” he said. “ … There’s a lot more to being a student-athlete than Saturday afternoon from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and I’ve got to get it right in every area. That’s what I’m trying to do every day.”

Foley and other top administrators, including interim MU Vice Chancellor for Diversity Kevin McDonald and then-interim MU System President Mike Middleton, announced a series of initiatives two months ago.

Mizzou has committed $1.6 million toward doubling minority faculty and attracting minority doctoral candidates above and beyond several million dollars already pledged in initiatives aimed at fostering diversity and inclusion across the System’s four campuses, which are located in Columbia, Kansas City, St. Louis and Rolla.

“It’s not enough … but it’s a great start,” Middleton said in September, “and we’re going to keep building on that great start to move the ball forward. … We’re connecting more closely with the community. There are issues here that can be solved to make this community more comfortable and receptive to the families and others associated with minority faculty.”

This story was originally published November 6, 2016 at 2:21 PM with the headline "Mizzou remains vigilant one year after football team’s boycott."