Bucky Brooks of the NFL Network recently released his second 2026 NFL mock draft. Of the 32 players he forecasts being selected in the first round, 28 of them are Black.
In February 2025, the NCAA released a report highlighting African American participation in various sports at all levels of competition.
According to the report on Division I athletics:
40% of football participants are Black, totaling 32,184 student-athletes. This is the highest number across all sports and was a 26% increase.
44% of men’s basketball players are Black, with a total of 8,393 student-athletes.
28% of women’s basketball players are Black — the highest percentage of any women’s sport — with 4,682 student-athletes.
20% of indoor and outdoor track and field participants in both men’s and women’s events are Black. It is the top sport by number for Black women, at over 6,000.
In 2025, the U.S. Census Bureau listed the Black population of the United States at 14.4%.
I share those numbers to make this point:
There is growing alarm over Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) payments to athletes and the transfer portal frenzy. Yes, things are getting absurd, but it is important to remember what, in part, is fueling the ferocity.
Black athletes and their families are reaping much of the benefit. This is disconcerting to many coaches, administrators, fans — and the president of the United States.
The phony-baloney White House “Saving College Sports” conference held last Friday to address NIL and transfer policies brought a conglomerate of people to Washington, D.C.
The gaggle included respected coach Nick Saban, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and no student-athlete representatives.
This colossal waste of time was nothing more than a photo opportunity and platform for the president to make yet another preposterous announcement.
“I will have an executive order within one week …which will solve every conceivable problem in this room. If this doesn’t work, college sports will be destroyed. Women’s sports will be destroyed,” said President Trump.
Groups representing college players and pro athletes are vehemently opposed to any effort that would restrict the rights that college players have under the current NIL structure.
The concern isn’t only financial. The growing angst is because student-athletes and their representatives suddenly have as much power as coaches and administrators.
Most of those people are white men. Relative to the U.S. population, a disproportionate share of those being paid are Black.
It’s not all about math and the sanctity of college athletics. This is a debate about power. Suddenly, Black athletes have too much of it.
Trump said he is sure “we’re going to be sued,” for his executive order.
A legal battle will ensue, but Black players have the power to protect their earning power. They could boycott a game if they don’t like the Trump plan.
Heck, if Black athletes refused to practice for a week in their respective sports the wheels of college athletics would halt.
Black men and women in collegiate sports could also do the unthinkable: forego the Power Four conferences and play at HBCUs. Yes, individual donors would have to match what they would make in NIL payments at larger schools, but the money is out there in Black America.
Is the will?
Right now, the ball is in Trump’s hands. But Black players are winning the games, and they have the power to win this contest.
The Reid Roundup
In two games after returning from an Achilles rupture suffered last year in the playoffs, Jayson Tatum averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists for the Boston Celtics. It’s simply amazing…The Kansas City Chiefs will sign Super Bowl MVP free-agent running back Kenneth Walker to a deal this week….St. Louis native Jeremiyah Love will likely be drafted before the Chiefs’ No. 9 pick in the NFL Draft on April 23. BUT, if he’s there, Kansas City will still take him. You heard it here first…BetMGM set the over/under on St. Louis Cardinals wins in 2026 at 69.5. Take the over. The team won’t be that bad…The only teams predicted to win fewer games are the Chicago White Sox (67.5), Washington Nationals (65.5), and Colorado Rockies (54.5). White Sox manager Will Venable’s team will easily top that mark.