MU football coach, athletic director respond to president’s resignation

MU head football coach Gary Pinkel and MU Athletic Director Mack Rhoades held a news conference Monday afternoon following the announcement that MU President Tim Wolfe resigned from his position.

Wolfe made the announcement Monday after allegations of racism had been brewing for weeks on the MU campus.

MU football players promised to stand with the Concerned Student 1950 movement and not play or practice until MU grad student Jonathan Butler ended his hunger strike.

MU Athletic Director Mack Rhoades said, “Our student athletes decided to get involved and quite frankly, we support them. I think it’s important to note during these discussions there was no talk of anyone losing their jobs.”

Rhoades went on to say, “This is not a sports issue, it’s a societal issue. We hope that our athletics department can act as leaders moving forward on our campus. It’s imperative that this does not divide us, but rather unite us and create positive change.”

Head Football Coach Gary Pinkel said, “I support my players and their need to support a young man losing his life. Our players are leaders and they want to get more involved in the campus. They were very concerned with Butler’s life.”

When asked about the players missing practice, Pinkel said, “I didn’t think about the consequences, I was thinking about my players and supporting them. We thought, if he doesn’t start eating, he’s going to die. It simply had to do with supporting players.”

Pinkel also noted, “Certainly there were some players that just went along with it because its is their teammates and they were going to support them.”

In closing, Rhoades said not every situation will be dealt with the same way.

“I go back to ‘extrordinary circumstances,’ which require extraordinary measures. We won’t solve every issue this way.”