Civil disobedience.
Ever since Henry David Thoreau first penned his brilliant essay (originally titled "Resistance to Civil Government") in 1849 on the need for all citizens to honor their consciences rather than blindly obey the laws of the land, everyone from Martin Luther King Jr. to Ghandi has cited his words as inspiration for their nonviolent movements to force societal change.
Late Saturday night - as Alabama was crushing LSU, Tennessee fans were breathing a sigh of relief after the Vols' nervous win over South Carolina, and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga fans were beginning to realize they could miss the playoffs if the Mocs lose to The Citadel on Saturday - the Missouri football team decided it would rather practice civil disobedience regarding its university than, well, practice for this weekend's game against BYU in Kansas City, Mo.
And you thought every school in the Southeastern Conference other than Vanderbilt was a jock factory focused on athletic victories only.
While it's not yet clear if this boycott over racial unrest on the Mizzou campus involves but a handful of Tigers or the whole team, it is a bold and refreshing reminder that freedom of expression and determination to exact social change didn't die in the 1960s and early 1970s, as has seemed the case in recent decades.
But beyond that narrow praise, there should also be many concerns and much thought given to how much the Mizzou administration and board of trustees is willing to placate the protesters' demands, beginning with the football team.
At the top of the list, because major college football is big business these days, is the potential loss of millions if the Tigers, who are 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the SEC this season, go through with their threat to boycott all remaining practices and games until university system president Tim Wolfe is relieved of his duties.
In a terse tweet posted Saturday night by Missouri's Legion of Black Collegians, about 30 players stated: "The athletes of color on the University of Missouri football team truly believe 'Injustice Anywhere is a threat to Justice Everywhere' We will no longer participate in any football related activities until Tim Wolfe resigns or is removed due to his negligence toward marginalized students' experiences. WE ARE UNITED!!!!!"
The athletic department went a stunning step further Sunday night by announcing the football team would not practice again until graduate student Jonathan L. Butler's seven-days-and-counting hunger strike against Wolfe's continued employment has ended.
Butler, it should be noted, has vowed to starve himself to death if Wolfe isn't ousted. The athletic department, especially the football team, apparently believes him, releasing a statement that read, in part: "Our focus right now is on the health of Jonathan Butler, the concerns of our student-athletes and working with our community to address this serious issue. After meeting with the team this morning, it is clear they do not plan to return to practice until Jonathan resumes eating."
On a campus located two hours from Ferguson, Mo., and its intense racial strife over a policeman's fatal shooting of 18-year-old African-American Michael Brown some 15 months ago, such racial unrest and tension is understandable.
Especially when one considers the reported incidents of the past few weeks on Mizzou's main campus, beginning when Payton Head, the Missouri Students Association president and an African-American, said he was racially abused while walking.
A few weeks later, in October, a student yelled the n-word at members of the Legion of Black Collegians in a campus plaza while they were rehearsing for a play. A week or two after that, someone smeared human feces in the shape of a swastika on a dormitory bathroom wall.
Even Wolfe, who has been accused by Butler and others of being too slow to act on such deplorable behavior, noted over the weekend: "Racism does exist at our university, and it is unacceptable. It is a long-standing, systemic problem which daily affects our family of students, faculty and staff. I am sorry this is the case."
To be clear, there is no evidence that Wolfe is a racist. He may be tone-deaf to the urgency of the Mizzou situation, but that can be fixed. And however laudable all these students' social consciences, especially the athletes who seem concerned about more than what uniform design they'll wear this week or what girl they'll meet at the postgame party, they also need to understand that actions almost always create reactions, and those aren't always enjoyable.
One person volunteering to starve himself shouldn't destroy another person's career who never did him any direct harm. What if 100 citizens decided to starve themselves unless President Obama resigned? How do you think that would go over?
If these students and athletes decided to boycott classes or games until those persons responsible for the swastika and despicable language were severely punished, that would be a noble act. And if Mizzou wishes to forfeit football games to that end, more power to it.
After all, in this country, everyone has a right to stand up for what they believe. It's what makes us the envy of the world. But you also can't let yourself be blackmailed and bullied.
And terminating Wolfe because of threats and grandstanding by the Tigers football team and a hungry Butler would be a cave-in rather than a compromise by a university that should be made of better, tougher stuff.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com