Why is NAACP asking Black athletes to boycott southern colleges after the Louisiana voting rights ruling? Derrick Johnson sparks college sports debate

The NAACP has started a new campaign called “Out of Bounds,” asking Black student athletes and their families to stop supporting some major southern colleges. The civil rights group says these universities continue to benefit from Black athletes while their state governments are making changes that weaken Black voting power. The campaign began after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, a decision the NAACP says damaged protections under the Voting Rights Act.

The organization named eight states in the campaign, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Georgia. According to the NAACP, many universities in these states earn more than $100 million yearly from sports programs that heavily recruit Black athletes. At the same time, the group says lawmakers in those states are redrawing voting maps in ways that reduce Black political representation. Harvard Kennedy School reported that the Supreme Court ruled Louisiana’s 2024 congressional map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Soon after, states began working on new district maps, according to a May 19, 2026 report from The Guardian.

Derrick Johnson says Black athletes should rethink where they play college sports

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson strongly criticized the states involved in the campaign. In the organization’s official statement, he said, “What these states have done is not a policy disagreement. It is a sprint to erase Black political power.”

Johnson also said, “These actions happened in days, in some cases in hours, of a Supreme Court ruling that gives extremist lawmakers a playbook to erode Black representation. 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.”

The “Out of Bounds” campaign mainly focuses on top football and basketball recruits. The NAACP wants players to pause commitments to certain schools and ask coaches and athletic directors where their universities stand on voting rights. The organization is also encouraging athletes to seriously consider Historically Black Colleges and Universities, also known as HBCUs.

Current college athletes were also asked to think about using the transfer portal and their NIL influence to speak about voting rights and fair district maps. Fans, alumni, and donors are being encouraged to stop buying tickets and merchandise connected to targeted schools and instead support HBCU programs, scholarships, bands, and alumni foundations.

The NAACP said the campaign will continue until the states restore fair district maps and improve protections for Black voters.



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