He's gone now, and so Missouri football is back. The Tigers' game against BYU would — could — not have been played this Saturday under the status quo, not as long as a block of at least 30 black players, backed by their coach, Gary Pinkel, held firm.
To their credit, Pinkel's included, they did.
It may be the most important thing that team accomplishes this season, drawing attention to student complaints about the lead administrator's handling of discrimination based on race. For weeks and months, African-American groups on campus had protested regarding racial slurs and other insults and affronts at the school that had gone unaddressed.