4-Star Missouri Commit DaRon Davis: 'I Wish I Could Have Been There to Protest'

2017 4-star wide receiver DaRon Davis of Hogan Preparatory Academy in Kansas City, Missouri, committed to play for Missouri on Thursday, Nov. 5, after the Tigers' 31-13 loss to Mississippi State.

The following is a first-person account of his thoughts on the football players' and coaches' roles in the campus-wide protests that led to the resignation of former University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe on Monday, as told to Bleacher Report's Damon Sayles.

I live in a predominantly black community in Kansas City, so the issues facing the Missouri students didn't shock me at all. I know there's racism everywhere and I pray that it'll stop, but I know it won't.

After I committed to Missouri on Thursday, I didn't know what to think about the protests. One second I was just excited about committing, and then I found out that the school president [Tim Wolfe] resigned.

Nobody wants to go through racism. We just want to be treated equally. I was with the guys this week, not physically but mentally. I wish I could have been there to protest, but I'm glad everything is OK now.

The situation didn't make me want to decommit. If anything, it strengthens my commitment, because you see that everybody in the program has each other's back—the coaches, the players, the staff, everybody.

Mizzou is a family.

Hearing that my old high school teammate Anthony Sherrils and Coach [Gary] Pinkel supported the protest meant a lot, especially Coach Pinkel. That shows that he really cares about his players. It made me want to go to Mizzou even more. You always want to have a coach who supports his players; you want to be with someone who you trust will take care of you. 

When I visited, you could tell Coach Pinkel and the other coaches are like father figures for the players. They told me they're always going to be there for me. Seeing them back that up with their actions and how everybody had each other's backs throughout the ordeal, that's what I love about Missouri.

I think this is going to make the team better and help them form an even stronger brotherhood, and I will be at the game this weekend to show my support for the team.

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