(BCSNN) -- If you have leverage, use it. That's the message that the NAACP is making by calling on Black athletes and fans to boycott the athletic programs of public universities in states it says are taking steps to restrict Black voting rights, launching a campaign that could reshape the landscape of college sports if widely supported.
The “Out of Bounds” campaign, announced on Tuesday, 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, the boycott could drain talent from powerhouse football and basketball programs across the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference, two leagues built heavily on Black athletic contributions.
The NAACP’s effort comes in response to a wave of gerrymandering following a Supreme Court ruling that narrowed a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Civil rights activists across the South have mobilized against redistricting plans by Republican-led legislatures that eliminate majority‑Black congressional districts, turning to economic pressure and public protest as leverage.
“Across the South, Black athletes have helped build some of the most profitable college athletic programs in America,” NAACP president Derrick Johnson said. He noted that these programs “generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue, national television value, alumni donations, merchandising sales, ticket sales and brand equity -- much of it powered by Black football and basketball talent.”
The campaign specifically targets Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and South Carolina, arguing that flagship universities in those states rely heavily on Black athletes and therefore bear responsibility to protect Black political representation. “Black athletes should not be asked to generate wealth, prestige, and power for state institutions while those same states strip political power from Black communities,” Johnson said.
Black lawmakers are also applying pressure. The Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter Monday to the commissioners of the SEC and ACC, as well as NCAA president Charlie Baker, warning that its members will oppose the SCORE Act — a bill to standardize athletes’ contracting rights — unless conference leaders oppose GOP-led redistricting efforts in states with major conference members.
“The Congressional Black Caucus believes institutions that profit from Black talent and Black communities have a responsibility to stand with those communities when their fundamental rights are under attack,” the CBC said. “Silence in the face of injustice is not neutrality -- it is complicity.”
The stakes are enormous. A widespread boycott by Black athletes — who make up a significant share of SEC and ACC football and basketball rosters — could fundamentally alter competitive balances, recruiting pipelines, and the financial engines that drive college athletics. The NAACP’s call represents one of the most direct challenges yet to the political and economic structures surrounding major college sports. Black athletes have an opportunity to not only improve things for themselves, but for future generations of kids that look just like them.
