NAACP urges boycott of public universities in seven states over voting rights
WASHINGTON — The NAACP on Tuesday called on Black athletes, fans and alumni to boycott athletic programs at public universities in states it says are taking steps that restrict Black voting rights.
The NAACP said its “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.” The group named Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and South Carolina as targets of the boycott.
“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,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said, according to the group.
The NAACP said the campaign could affect powerhouse programs in the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference, but acknowledged timing limits immediate impact. The group noted transfer portals for Division I football and basketball are closed until 2027 and that recruiting windows — including the basketball signing period in mid-November and the 72-hour early signing period for football in the first week of December — may limit the campaign’s short-term leverage.
The NAACP said it is among civil rights groups responding to a wave of redistricting after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. The Congressional Black Caucus on Monday told SEC and ACC commissioners and NCAA President Charlie Baker it will oppose the SCORE Act, a bill to standardize athletes’ contracting rights, unless conference leaders oppose GOP-led redistricting efforts. “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 caucus said in a statement.
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