BYU tries to keep its focus on football as the drama unfolds at Mizzou
By John Hollis
Published:
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall was very careful in choosing his words regarding Saturday’s game against Missouri.
The non-conference matchup at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium figures to command national headlines but for reasons well beyond football.
African-American players from the Tigers football team played a key role in Monday’s resignation of University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe with their threat to boycott all football activities until Wolfe resigned or was fired. He was accused of doing little or nothing to address minority concerns on the predominantly white University of Missouri campus in Columbia in the wake of a string of racially charged incidents.
The story blew up nationally following the boycott threat by Tigers players on Sunday with the support of their coach. It was unclear as of Sunday whether Saturday’s game against the Cougars would be played at all.
Wolfe resigned on Monday, and the game is on as scheduled.
“I think that Missouri has been dealing with some important but also difficult issues,” Mendenhall said from his prepared statement. “We’re grateful that they have been able to reach the beginning of a resolution. We look forward to preparing for the game at Arrowhead Stadium. It’s a unique opportunity for our football team to play against a great program in a storied venue.”
Mendenhall was careful not to say anything inflammatory about the situation in Missouri. Both he and BYU officials advised Cougars players on the fluid situation and prepped them in advance for media inquiries.
BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum sounded well-versed on the matter.
“I’m sure I saw what everyone saw, just the general stuff that is put out on Twitter and the media. But there are other details that we don’t know about. We’re not too concerned about it. Like Coach Mendenhall said, we’re going to focus on what we can control. They’re obviously taking on some important issues. We don’t know the whole story and what exactly is going on, but it’s up to us to focus on what we can control. I’m glad that we have a football game on Saturday. Obviously, we want to play. We just have to focus on our game.”
Senior running back Adam Hine, who is African-American, went a step further and praised the Tigers football players for taking a stand.
“I think it’s good when people who are different and are discriminated for their differences push for a change,” he said. “Being different myself, like everyone else, it’s cool to see a change. It’s cool to see people group together in a group and be able to push for something that’s good.”
John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.
