Peaceful Student Protest Marches On Eastern Michigan Field As Game Ends

Eastern Michigan students protesting that university’s response to white supremacist graffiti that appeared on a campus dorm this week occupied an area behind an end zone during tonight’s game against Wyoming before marching onto the field upon the game’s completion in a display that, remarkably, CBS Sports Network carried live in its entirety.

Not only did CBSSN not cut away from the protest—which, according to a reporter, included at least one Wyoming player—but the network eventually interviewed one of the student protest leaders:

The network provided updates on the protest throughout the second half, and interviewed EMU president James Smith—who revealed that the university negotiated the terms of the protest with the group, which has already seen one of its protests this week marred by a woman who plowed her SUV through the crowd.

That the students protested peacefully and without incident isn’t remarkable; that CBS Sports Network stayed with the broadcast to provide the audience with context and commentary is.

[CBSSN]