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Robin Pingeton. (photo courtesy of Mizzou Athletics)
On Wednesday, members of the Mizzou athletics community gathered at The Columns to march in honor of George Floyd, who lost his life due to police brutality.
Among the participants were Coach Pingeton, men’s basketball Coach Cuonzo Martin, newly hired football Coach Eliah Drinkwitz, University of Missouri system President Mun Choi, Athletic’s Director Jim Sterk, 29 members of the MU and Columbia police departments and numerous student athletes. The idea of the march came from sophomore defensive back Martez Manuel.
On May 30, Pingeton tweeted a statement with her reaction to Floyd’s murder in which she says, “I am committed to being a part of change in our society that should not tolerate these senseless acts of violence and blatant inequalities.”
From The Columns, the participants marched to the Boone County Courthouse where the participants took a knee for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the same amount of time Derek Chauvin’s knee was on Floyd’s neck.
Following the kneel, over 60 student athletes registered to vote.
This isn’t the first time Mizzou athletes have protested over racial issues.
In November 2015, members of the football team joined Concerned Students 1950 and threatened to boycott games and all football related activities if former system President Tim Wolfe didn’t step-down. Former Coach Gary Pinkel and the rest of the football staff gave their team complete support.
The demands of Concerned Students 1950 are still being worked on today, but the support the athletics department has for their Black athletes appears to be a permanent fixture now.