UPDATE: Rep. Brattin has withdrawn his controversial bill that would revoke the scholarships of athletes in Missouri who refused to play.
Rep. Brandon Ellington, head of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus added,
“Seeking to punish those who peacefully take a stand against racial injustice violates not only the constitutional right to free speech but the values we hold as Missourians.”
Original Story Below
A Missouri state representative filed a bill on Friday that would revoke the scholarships of college athletes who refuse to play games. House Bill No. 1743, sponsored by Missouri Representative Rick Brattin, provides that, “any college athlete who calls, incites, supports, or participates in any strike or concerted refusal to play a scheduled game shall have his or her scholarship revoked.”
Rep. Brattin proposed the bill in response to the remarkable events at the University Missouri last month, where members of the football team announced they would not participate in football activities until university president, Tim Wolf, resigned. Wolf resigned the next day. Rep. Brattin argues that the team’s conduct was “completely horrific,” and expressed concerns about Missouri’s “radioactive brand now.”
In a released statement, former Tigers safety Ian Simon noted,
“They want to call us student athletes. But they keep us out of the student part of it.”
Simon was a leader in the football team’s demonstration.
Rep. Brattin’s most recent action prior to the introduction of this bill was a November 17th call on Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to “halt the placement of Syrian refugees.” Past bills introduced by Brattin include a bill proposing equal treatment of evolution and intelligent design in classrooms and one requiring written, notarized consent by fathers before an abortion could be performed.
In 2014, the University of Missouri brought in over 35 million dollars in revenue according to the NCAA Membership Financial Reporting System. The Missouri Tiger’s Football played all of their scheduled games for the 2015 season ending with a 5-7 record.
On December 3rd the Missouri named Barry Odom their head coach following Gary Pinkel’s resignation.
