Sports, from youth leagues, to recreational, to college, to pro are ways to escape the political and social turmoil that grips our nation.
Team A against Team B should have a path clear of Black against white, red against blue, them against us.
But the rules governing this game have changed.
The national NAACP, with support of the Congressional Black Caucus, is calling on Black athletes and fans to boycott public universities in states where Republican legislatures are quickly trying to redistrict and render Black votes as meaningless as possible.
It’s more than just politics. It’s more than “elections have consequences.” There is a sinister plot at work in the South, and soon other states, to reduce Black voters’ status. Welcome back, Jim Crow.
It’s now “all hands on deck” for Black Americans. Our athletes could help make a swift and powerful shift in momentum.
Aptly named “Out of Bounds,” the NAACP is urging Black athletic recruits to withhold commitments from SEC schools in Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Georgia.
The initiative was launched in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, a decision critics say gutted the Voting Rights Act, according to U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell and other Black members of Congress.
“What these states have done is not a policy disagreement. It is a sprint to erase Black political power,” Derrick Johnson, NAACP president, said in a release.
“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 NAACP said several of the universities that face a possible boycott reap more than $100 million annually through their athletic programs.
It is not just players who are being asked to have an influence.
Fans and alumni of the schools that are targeted are requested to share financial support with HBCUs and not attend games.
Hit ‘em where it hurts, Black America — and that’s on SEC football fields and basketball courts. It’s on baseball and softball diamonds and gymnastics competition venues.
In the arms race for valued Black athletic stars, if schools fall behind and on-field performances suffer, there would be change.
Missouri is a member of the SEC. Republicans have enacted redistricting that will eliminate U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver from Congress by diluting his district through gerrymandering.
Some Republicans are saying Cleaver’s congressional district will soon be changed, almost guaranteeing that Missouri will not have another Democratic congressman, let alone another Black one.
On Thursday, May 21, 2026, I sent emails to the state, St. Louis and St. Louis County NAACP branches asking if a similar call for a boycott would be issued against the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Because of the Memorial Day holiday, this column was written on Friday, and the chapters have not had adequate time to respond. I eagerly await what our local NAACP chapters are planning. Hopefully, they will support the national NAACP by acting in Missouri.
The University of Missouri is not “the bad guy” in this case, nor is its athletic department. However, it finds itself in a precarious situation thanks to a legislature hell-bent on eliminating Black voices.
Black young men and women from the St. Louis area who are being recruited by Missouri should reflect on the impact of their decisions. This is not a demand. It is a request.
Currently, no states with Big Ten or Big 12 schools have created new gerrymandered districts, nor has there been an announced plan to do so. There are many Power Four schools to choose from should a decision be made to boycott certain SEC universities.
I’m not telling anyone what to do; I am saying it is a time for action.
Black athletes can make a resounding statement in Missouri, the South and across America by holding state schools and state legislatures accountable for their actions on voting rights and Black representation.