#PSBSportsChop: University of Missouri – November 9, 2015
The University of Missouri has been the center of media attention this weekend and today due to the racial tension due to the treatment of issues involving minority students. The story itself has been well documented by every credible media outlet nationally. Take a minute to research the background.
Listen to more about this topic on the PSBPopCulture.com Report at the 9:00 min mark:
Our PSBPopCulture.com Group Message kept my iPhone 6S Plus buzzing for the majority of the past 48 hours as the stories kept coming in. Given the racial unrest that was front page just months ago during the Ferguson, Mo., situation, I decided to write about this situation from a different angle.
My point of view is from that of the “student-athlete.” Based on finances generated through booster donations, ticket sales and athletic apparel sponsorships, the current “Power 5” conference system in both men’s basketball and football are funded better than any Minor League organizations in the United States and most draw better average attendance than their pro sports counterparts. Located in Columbia, Mo., the University of Missouri football program is no different.
Even during a down season for the emerging SEC powerhouse so far at 4-5, coach Gary Pinkel and his program are the go-to for Saturday entertainment in the Show Me State. What they say, what they do and how they carry themselves goes a long way in setting trends statewide. It’s why Nike has an endorsement contract to pay the school through cash and product millions of dollars annually. I credit the 36 players who risked their scholarships had the protest lagged on for weeks by saying they would not play football again until change was made. Those young men taking a stand that great says a lot about the tension that existed on the Missouri campus.
Then Pinkel released this tweet that received over 15,000 retweets on Sunday morning:
The Mizzou Family stands as one. We are united. We are behind our players. #ConcernedStudent1950 GP pic.twitter.com/fMHbPPTTKl
— Coach Gary Pinkel (@GaryPinkel) November 8, 2015
I talked to Carl Reed Jr., coach of the Lutheran North High program based inside the State of Missouri. One of his former players from a different school, Ronnell Perkins, is on the Missouri roster and was one of the players involved in the initial stance against the President. Reed Jr. had this to say, “I believed that Pinkel would side with the players given the subject matter and sheer amount of guys who felt strongly enough to take a stand. Pinkel’s willingness to stand behind his team and program will go a long way in recruiting future in-state prospects regardless of color.”
I heard a lyric off of Drake’s “6 PM in New York” on his last solo album that I felt captured my sentiments about much of the unrest nationwide including the Missouri situation:
“We need protection from those protecting the block/Nobody looking out for nobody/Maybe we should try and help somebody instead of being somebody that makes the news so every body can tweet about it/And then they start to RIP about it/Four weeks later nobody even speaks about it/Man, I just had to say my piece about it.
In this case, the block is the university and all that it encompasses. Everyone involved in the protest stood up and looked out for each other. By banding together and staying peaceful in the protest, the focus remained on the injustice that the group was calling out as opposed to the protestors themselves. As a result, this situation and the resignation of the President as a result will be talked about much more than four years from now let alone four weeks.
Brandon Clay is a contributor to PSBPopCulture.com through his various genre reviews. A self-professed entertainment & music junkie, Clay has been on his game since picking up his first Nintendo and Sony Walkman in the early 90’s. You can follow him on Twitter @bballplusmusic.