The NAACP on Tuesday urged black athletes to boycott college sports across eight Southern states, due to allegations that they are undercutting minority voting rights through redistricting efforts.
The civil rights organization launched a campaign targeting public universities in Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Georgia, which have redrawn or moved to redraw their political maps. NAACP alleged such moves were meant to “limit, weaken, or erase Black voting representation,” and said the Out of Bounds campaign is aimed at targeting flagship public athletic programs in those states that recruit Black athletes and generate more than $100 million in annual revenue.
“The NAACP will not watch the same institutions that depend on Black athletic prowess to fill their stadiums and their bank accounts remain silent while their states strip Black communities of their voice,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said. “Out of Bounds is our answer: we are naming the contradiction, and we are calling on Black athletes, families, fans, and consumers to act on it. The same power that built these programs can be redirected. And it will be.”
The redistricting debate was triggered last summer, when Texas passed a new congressional map aimed at boosting the Republican Party’s power in the House, after pressure from President Donald Trump. The move sparked pushback from Democrats, who swiftly launched their own gerrymandering efforts in states such as California. In the months since, Democrats and Republicans have competed to see which party can pick up the most seats in Congress by redrawing political boundaries in House districts across the country.
