NAACP calls for boycott of some college programs
Key takeaways
- If Black athletes participate in the boycott, it could deplete rosters for powerhouse football and basketball programs across the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference.
- The NAACP is among groups responding to a wave of gerrymandering in the aftermath of a Supreme Court ruling that winnowed a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
- Civil rights activists have mobilized across the South to protest redistricting plans by Republican state legislatures that eliminate majority-Black congressional districts after the high court's ruling.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
WASHINGTON -- The NAACP is calling on Black athletes and fans to boycott the athletic programs of public universities in states that are taking steps that the nation's oldest civil rights group says are restricting Black voting rights.
Launched Tuesday, the "Out of Bounds" campaign urges prospective Black athletes, their families, alumni and fans to "withhold athletic and financial support" from major public universities in states that "have moved to limit, weaken or erase Black voting representation."
If Black athletes participate in the boycott, it could deplete rosters for powerhouse football and basketball programs across the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference.