For the past few years, the racial tensions of America have been at the forefront of news headlines with countless incidents of police brutality and racism leading to a national outcry for justice and social equality. While campus-wide protesting is nothing new, a group of more than 30 black student athletes at the University of Missouri's flagship campus are proving just how much power and influence student athletes can have. [RELATED: Student Athlete Career Readiness: Howard University Athletic Director Talks Advocacy] After months of racial unrest on campus, some of Mizzou's most prized students decided to stand in solidarity with the rest of their peers and demand that the system's president, Tim Wolfe, be removed from his position for his lack of response to racial incidents on campus. The players' decision to boycott all football-related activities until the school changed its leadership came on the heels of Mizzou grad student Jonathan Butler announcing Nov. 2 that he was going on a hunger strike until Wolfe's resignation. On Saturday, student athlete Anthony Sherrils, who is a sophomore defensive back, tweeted, "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 president Tim Wolfe resigns or is removed due to his negligence toward marginalized students' experiences. WE ARE UNITED!!!!!" On Sunday, the team followed their words with action by canceling practice as head coach Gary Pinkel tweeted out a picture that showed the entire football team and staff standing behind Butler's fight for equality. The Mizzou Family stands as one. We are united. We are behind our players. #ConcernedStudent1950 GP pic.twitter.com/fMHbPPTTKl – Coach Gary Pinkel (@GaryPinkel) November 8, 2015 Currently, Missouri's student body is 77% white and 7% black. Out of the 84 football players attending the school on scholarship, 58 of them are African American. Butler's hunger strike decision was just a fraction of the campus-wide effort led by the group Concerned Student 1950, which is named after the first year the university admitted black students into its institution. With the support of its athletic peers, the efforts of Butler and the organization Concerned Student 1950 made national headline news, and added a price tag to the trending hashtags #MizzouHungerStrike and #ConcernedStudent1950. It's no secret that college sports is a big business and that a significant portion of university revenue is generated from the athletics department. According to USA Today, athletics at the University of Missouri contributed more than $83.7 million to the school's revenue in 2014, with the football team bringing in more than $35.6 million. Hearing the cry of the student athletes and several other student activists, Gov. Jay Nixon weighed in with his thoughts on the issue, while members from the university's faculty planned to begin a two-day walkout in support of the student's fight for justice. (Continued on next page) "These concerns must be addressed to ensure the University of Missouri is a place where all students can pursue their dreams in an environment of respect, tolerance and inclusion," Nixon said in a statement. With growing campus tensions and an angered football team who is set to host Brigham Young on Saturday, President Tim Wolfe announced Monday that he was stepping down from his position. "This is not, I repeat, not, the way change should come about," Wolfe said. While Wolfe's resignation was needed, he is right that change should not have come about in this manner. As university leader, Wolfe should have addressed the cries of students months ago when African American student Payton Head, who is the Student's Association president said he was racially abused while walking. Or when a student yelled the N-word at members of the Legion of Black Collegians while they were on campus rehearsing for a play. And drastic leadership measures should have been taken when recently smeared feces in the shape of a swastika was found on the bathroom wall in a residence hall. The result of all these incidents and more is what led Butler to take a stand. Yet it wasn't until a week after the grad student went without food and less than 48 hours after the entire football team stood behind him that real change took place. The unified efforts of Mizzou's football team is a prime example of how student athletes are really a school's most prized possession because of the price tag placed behind them. In 2014, Mizzou's athletics department made more than $24 million in ticket sales, providing a glimpse of how much money a missed game would have caused the university. Since it's clear that hitting the pockets of these institutions is the only way to generate real change, it will be interesting to see what impact both student and professional athletes can have if they took a unified stand against other social issues that are affecting our communities.