The eyes of a nation will focus on the college football community for awhile.
We’re not referring solely to fans of the sport, either. Good Morning America, The Today Show, and CBS This Morning; CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News; every other network, blog, personality, and human with an opinion will weigh in on the matter: Missouri Tiger football players are going to boycott team activities.
We at The Student Section are still waiting before fully commenting on this story. Expect more coverage of this as the week continues. For now, we will leave you with some other posts from various outlets to get you caught up on this story. It broke in the midst of a full Saturday of football, but it will acquire a national spotlight in the coming days.
Missouri Players Taking a Stand
I had a hard time finding posts dealing with this that didn’t have any “takes” built into the content. To be more precise, several links didn’t contain any takes, but many of those didn’t have a lot of the news of the story actually covered. Yahoo! has much of what you need to know to get updated on the situation.
Deadspin has a much shorter version of what is going on at Missouri. It also has updates as far as how the school has reacted to the strike. It seems the coaches — or, at least the ones who have commented so far — are going to support the players.
If you are completely unaware of what exactly has been going on at Missouri, and why there has been a need for such a social stance, Shaun King has a column that should help you — to some degree — get caught up.
I wasn’t looking for any hot takes on this. However, when I searched for more news on the matter, “things” began to pop up on the Google machine. If reactions of the lowest common denominator are your cup of tea, travel to this message board… though, I am sure any college football message board discussing this topic will do.
*
An eye for nuance needs to be used by those who aren’t directly involved in this story but are attempting to cover it.
While this isn’t anything more than a “news post,” phrasing is everything.
The headline of that linked piece is something one can take umbrage with. As is often the case whenever someone writes the words “demands issued,” it is a subtle way to make it seem less like a protest and more like something sinister.
This situation isn’t new. That point can’t be missed. Students, not only the players, have taken umbrage with many perceived problems at the University of Missouri. Here is a tidbit which went under the radar at the time, but I am sure will pick up steam again as more eyeballs turn to that campus.
Extra Point
Many of us are going to read, write, and listen to hundreds to thousands of opinions on this matter going forward. As mentioned in the opening, this story will — and should — transcend the sport itself. It’s worth wrestling with the following question: Is this is less of a sports topic and more about a possible recurring injustice which has been taking place in one of our nation’s institutions of higher learning?
Without going to knee-deep into how this will alter the wasteland that can be college football fandom, let’s all try to acknowledge that the players who are taking the risk to take such a stand are a group of people willing to take a stand against injustices they feel were and have been perpetuated.
It’s fine to disagree with this action and the stance of the players. It’s a free country… which is the very same reason that it’s important to express personal disagreement — with the players themselves or with anyone else involved in this story — on the merits of positions. No one should be demeaned or belittled, and hopefully that note of civility will be struck by all who choose to invest themselves in this issue over the next several days (and possibly beyond).
Life is about more than 100 yards… I promise.
