Several weeks of student protest and a six-day hunger strike over the handling of racial tension on a college campus resulted in nothing. Last weekend, a group of black football players at the University of Missouri joined the protest. The student-athletes tweeted that they would not play until the university’s president resigns.
Tim Wolfe, the president of the University of Missouri, quit the next day. The student-athletes’ action is part of a growing movement around the U.S. Student athletes increasingly find they have the power to demand changes in their relationship to their schools. College football players often get scholarships and some benefits, like health insurance, from their schools. At one time, many thought that they received a “free education” in exchange for playing a game.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, controls college sports. NCAA rules say the time spent on sports should not be more than 20 hours a week. But many spend more time on sports than on studying.
