Northwestern women's basketball players write "We support Mizzou" on back of warmup shirts

EVANSTON — Northwestern women's basketball players are wearing warmups jerseys with the words "We Support Mizzou" written on the back for their season opener against Howard on Sunday night.

The players seemingly used duct tape and markers to write the words on the back of their shooting shirts. The team came out of the locker room with the warmups on, and bench players continued to wear them throughout the game.

The players and coaches declined to comment about the T-shirts at the post-game press conference through a team spokesperson. The team issued a statement after the game regarding the decision to wear the T-shirt.

We, the Northwestern University Women's Basketball team, acknowledge that as student-athletes, we have a lot of privilege. Unlike the students at the University of Missouri, and even some of our peers here at Northwestern, we are fortunate enough to constantly experience feelings of value and acceptance. Our athletic community, in tandem with University administration, has been an endless realm of support that makes sure we are well taken care of and protected.

However, we recognize that our experiences are not the case for all students, and that this privilege brings greater responsibility. In light of all that has been happening at Missouri, we, as a united team, wanted to let those students know that we simply see and care about their pain, and are supporting them through it all.

We believe that students shouldn't have to choose between going to class and their safety, and that every voice is valuable and deserves to be heard. We hope that this act of love and solidarity would inspire other student-athletes to use their platforms to take a stand.

- Northwestern Women's Basketball

University of Missouri students gained national attention this past week after protesting racist incidents and the Missouri administration. The protests led Missouri president Tim Wolfe to resign from his post on Nov. 9, just a few days after the football team said they would not play until Wolfe stepped down. Students at Northwestern and across the country have moved to stand in solidarity with students at Missouri throughout the week.

The statement from the women's basketball players comes two days after over one hundred students from Northwestern and other universities marched down Sheridan Road and staged a protest during the groundbreaking ceremony for Northwestern's new $260-million lakefront athletic facility on Friday.

All players on the roster wrote the message on the backs of their shirts.

Northwestern won the game 89-49.