NAACP calls for Black student-athletes to boycott Southern schools amid redistricting backlash

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

May 19, 2026, 12:59 PM EDT / Updated May 19, 2026, 1:01 PM EDT


The NAACP launched a campaign Tuesday calling on Black student-athletes to boycott Southern colleges in the wake of a Supreme Court decision last month that weakened the Voting Rights Act, leading to the dismantling of one majority-Black congressional district and a push to scrap others.

“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 National President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement.

The group is urging Black recruits to withhold their commitments from a list of universities primarily within the NCAA’s Southeastern Conference. The schools are in the following states: Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Georgia. Several of the schools have nationally ranked football programs, including the University of Alabama, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Georgia and the University of Mississippi.

The “Out of Bounds” campaign comes as voting rights advocates, across generations, are grappling with what they see as the latest blow to one of the most seminal victories of the nation’s Civil Rights Movement. The Voting Rights Act was enacted in 1965 to protect minority voters who long faced discrimination in elections. Last month, in a 6-3 ruling the Supreme Court held that the use of race to draw two majority-Black districts in Louisiana was an “unconstitutional racial gerrymander.”

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/naacp-black-athletes-boycott-southern-universities-redistricting-rcna345884

[mjvpi]

1. Why would any black athletes ever play for a Florida state school? They can't even teach slavery as history.

[Jose Garcia]

3. Money

[Stuckinthebush]

20. Ding Ding!

That NIL money is very very tempting. Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana have gobs of it. Tennessee too.

Where football is concerned, most of those big schools with deep NIL pockets are in red states. Ohio, Oklahoma now.

[J_William_Ryan]

2. In essence, a boycott of the SEC.

Might be difficult for some black football players, and understandably so.

[Jose Garcia]

5. There are a bunch of HBCU schools in there states also

[ForgoTheConsequence]

11. If you're good enough to play in the SEC, you aren't turning down that money to go to a MEAC team.

[sop]

27. SEC football hasn't been very dominant in recent years, they've been losing a lot of postseason bowl games and the

conference hasn't produced a national championship for a while. The top HS recruits could be going elsewhere if they want the exposure of being on winning teams.

[LakeVermilion]

4. I would suspect that coaches are...

way ahead of the NAACP. I can imagine that coaches from southern schools are really concerned about losing talent over this issue.

Republicans always fail to discover the unintended consequences.

[dalton99a]

6. Kick

[Scrivener7]

7. Good for them! Well done!

[msongs]

8. one suspects money will rule here

[TomSlick]

12. Of course it will.

The Golden Rule applies. Those who have the gold make the rules.

"Student athletes" are interested in money and coming to the attention of professional scouts. They will not sacrifice themselves to protest against the return of Jim Crow. It's probably asking to much for a bunch of teen aged athletes to think about the long term public good.

[otchmoson]

9. Finally!

My hubby has been telling me for months that this should happen. Sadly, we do understand that these young men are facing a dilemma--a career, big bucks, possibly professional paychecks and perks--vs. standing up for what's right. Many of them are under 20--it's hard to make a life-altering decision like that when you have a lack of experience to guide.

[Miguelito Loveless]

10. NBA players should boycott Jim Crow states.

[efhmc]

13. Easy for this little old white lady to advocate but many young athletes depend on these skills to help them get a

college education.

[Hassler]

14. Why is it only black students they call on

To boycott? Why not white students as well? And Hispanic students, etc...

[BumRushDaShow]

15. Probably because they are the biggest group

and biggest financial juggernauts for certain college ball sports (notably basketball).

[Hassler]

18. So white people get a pass, and the burden falls on the usual target.

[BumRushDaShow]

19. The majority population rarely makes that type of sacrifice

until something impacts them directly. So it becomes a wasted effort to keep begging over and over when shit like the 2024 election keeps happening.

[WSHazel]

22. Top white athletes will honor the boycott if it gets momentum

Let Alabama play the MAGA athletes. See how that goes for them.

[yardwork]

35. Thank you.

Why is it up to Black athletes to make this sacrifice?

[WSHazel]

36. It is not really a sacrifice

USC's and Michigan's million dollars are just as green as Alabama's and Florida's. They can go to USC or Michigan. These kids aren't going to starve or have to give up football.

[yardwork]

37. There are only so many positions open.

Telling Black athletes that they shouldn't compete for positions on half the country's college teams is very unfair.

Why shouldn't all athletes be asked to do the right thing?

[WSHazel]

38. As I have said within this thread, it won't be just black athletes skipping the schools

And I do not expect a full boycott. If just a meaningful percentage of the top 1000 players announce they will not play at the SEC schools, it will put pressure on the others. The SEC will still field a team, but they will be overpaying for lesser talent.

[Callie1979]

16. Hardly likely to happen at all. Too much money for playing now

Plus the chance to go pro

[WSHazel]

23. There are plenty of schools that pay players

They don’t have to go to Alabama.

[Callie1979]

29. ALA isnt the only high dollar school. The entire SEC is high dollar.

We wont see a SINGLE player turn down the best NIL offer.
And it's not fair ask them; many of them come from poor families. This is their chance to change the lives of their parents & secure their future.
Maybe we should instead put pressure of the Party to NOT repeat the mistakes of 2024 & push programs the voters want.

[WSHazel]

30. This isn't exactly a huge sacrifice

If maybe 50-100 kids decide they would rather get paid $1+ million to play anywhere but about 15 schools, the SEC will have a huge down year in football, and it will get these states’ attention.

There are hundreds of thousands of people, including me, risking much more in our activism than which school will pay them a million dollars to play 12 games a year. I hope a few kids will pitch in to fight fascism.

[Callie1979]

32. Dont get me wrong, I'd LOVE to see it for more than one reason!!

I just dont think we will.

But the same people who love to talk down the NFL players for whatever their grievance is ALWAYS give a pass to their favorite COLLEGE teams. I'd LOVE to see their reaction to their teams sucking for a few years even though MY team is one of them.

[xuplate]

17. Brilliant idea.

[Dan]

21. Lots of good post here, so won't repeat what has been said.

But, why not ask everybody to boycott watching the games on TV or attending the games of these southern schools. Why not ask other schools not to play against these schools.

[Callie1979]

33. Contracts in place would bar schools from NOT playing games.

Non-conference games are scheduled years in advance & the money games mean a lot to the smaller teams

[WSHazel]

24. If 10% of the top athletes honored this

It would have a snowball effect. Someone would play at these schools, it would just not be the top players. This would drive SEC fans apes***.

[WSHazel]

25. If the NAACP wants to really kneecap these schools

Go after the boosters who are paying the players to go to these schools. I bet a portion of these boosters are either black or black owned businesses. Only need 10-20% to pull back to create a snowball.

[RandySF]

26. That's a lot to put on a kid.

Whether it's a career in sports or an opportunity to earn a degree debt-frree, they want 18-year olds to pass on life-changing opportunities.

[JustAnotherGen]

28. We can't even get other

Black folks to stop going to Disney Land/Florida, Nashville, etc. etc.

We need a full blown concerted boycott that makes the Montgomery Bus Boycott look like a 3 day weekend.

It's beyond just elite athletes - it's all of us. Still haven't stepped foot in a Target since November 2024.

Amerikkka doesn't deserve our wealth, talent, voices, experience and discretionary spending. It's a shit hole country.

[Callie1979]

34. and its a finite market; only so many schools. Other boycotts were easy

Like the Bud Light deal; it was easy to just drink a different beer.
But these college fans are rabid. They see THEIR schools suffering because of their State legislators & it might make a difference.

[Vinca]

31. Earlier generations sacrificed for their right to vote and sadly, now a new generation has to. As unfair as it seems

to the athletes, I think this would be like dropping an A bomb in the red states. If you watch college sports at all, the stars (aka the ones bringing in the money) are mostly black. I doubt it would take too long when the profits drop off for those states to wake up to the fact everyone has a right to have their vote counted and gerrymandering their votes away will cost the states.