The University of Missouri is in the news for all of the wrong reasons, and rightfully so. An alleged incident with a swastika drawn in feces led to the Black players of Missouri's football team boycotting until the school's president was removed. The situation has hardly died down, as schools across the country attempt to stand in solidarity in troubling times.
Saturday, Missouri will face BYU and may come under even more fire, as the program promotes a "White-out" for the game. Don't think you've caught Mizzou with their pants down, because it's certainly not what it seems. The idea for Mizzou to wear all-white uniforms was formed long before the start of the season, according to the university's press release:
Prior to the season, Mizzou Assistant Athletic Director for Equipment Don Barnes came up with a uniform concept that Mizzou had never worn: a white base jersey-pant combo with black numbers and an anthracite Tiger stripe overlay accompanied by a white helmet equipped with a chrome secondary Tiger logo and facemask.
On the surface, it's a simple marketing ploy that teams all across the country do at some point during their season—Mizzou's just happened to come at the worst time. They have the perfect opportunity to change their minds and opt out of a "white-out," which would be perfectly fine. To draw a conclusion that their being insensitive to what's happening on campus—and across the country—by a simple marketing ploy is even more irresponsible than Mizzou actually going through with it.
[h/t MUTigers.com]
