Former University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe, who resigned from his post amid protests over the school’s handling of racial matters on campus, sent a confidential email to supporters last week complaining about the incident.
In the email, which was leaked to local media, Mr. Wolfe compiled a list of people he believed made it impossible for him to keep his job at the university, including outgoing Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, ex-Mizzou football coach Gary Pinkel and the players that joined a strike, and an unnamed “significant Ferguson protester,” most likely a reference to Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson.
He claimed the football team did not consult with university officials before going on strike.
“The football team’s decision to strike is what actually brought most of the national attention to our university,” Mr. Wolfe wrote, according to images of the email published by The Kansas City Star.
“In hindsight the $1 million penalty associated with forfeiting the game against BYU would have paled in comparison to the more than $25 million in lost tuition fees MU will realize with reduced enrollment this Fall. It’s also a pittance of the threatened loss of state funding that could be as much as $500 million,” Mr. Wolfe continued.
“Unfortunately, MU Athletic Director Mack Rhoades, Coach Pinkel and Bowen Loftin all failed to communicate with system officials on this matter,” he said, adding that the football team’s strike was “the equivalent of throwing gasoline on a small fire.”
Mr. Wolfe said that his sudden resignation was also prompted by a “significant pending event that was to occur on the campus” that day.
He said local and federal authorities had “dealt with this issue before at other campuses” and were aware of a “significant Ferguson protestor” on campus and there was a threat that more protesters were coming in for a demonstration that day.
“So as to prevent, injury and further embarrassment on our campus, the only way to relieve the pressure and stop the momentum was for me to resign,” Mr. Wolfe wrote.
He concluded saying he doesn’t like how his name is “being attached unfairly to the issues of racism and incompetent leadership.”
Mr. Wolfe is currently working with the school’s board to work out issues over compensation and sent the letter to his supporters to urge them to contact board members so his contract can be negotiated.
