“The Same State Working To Erase Your Grandmother’s Congressional District Will Celebrate Your Touchdown Or Game-Winning Shot,” NAACP Director Tylik McMillan Says
Last week, the NAACP has launched a national campaign calling on Black athletes, recruits, families, fans, alumni and consumers to withhold athletic and financial support from major public universities in states the organization says are weakening Black voting representation.
The campaign, called “Out of Bounds,” was announced Tuesday and focuses on eight states: Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Georgia.
The NAACP said those states have moved to limit, weaken or erase Black voting representation following the Supreme Court’s 6 to 3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. The NAACP said the campaign is aimed at flagship public athletic programs that generate more than $100 million in annual revenue while continuing to recruit Black athletes in states where Black political representation is being challenged or reduced.
NAACP Says College Sports Cannot Be Separated From Voting Rights
“What these states have done is not a policy disagreement. It is a sprint to erase Black political power,” said Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP.
“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. Out of Bounds is our answer: we are naming the contradiction, and we are calling on Black athletes, families, fans, and consumers to act on it. The same power that built these programs can be redirected. And it will be.”
The organization said the economic stakes are significant, noting that flagship universities in the eight targeted states collectively generate billions of dollars in annual athletic revenue.
Related: SCOTUS Voting Rights Ruling Fuels New Push To Defend Black Representation
The main ask of the campaign is directed at top football and basketball recruits. The NAACP is calling on them to withhold commitments from targeted programs until those states restore fair congressional maps and meaningful Black representation.
The campaign also calls on current college athletes, including those already enrolled at targeted programs, to consider their options, including the transfer portal. The organization is also urging athletes to use their platforms and NIL reach to elevate voting rights and fair redistricting.
Recruits, Current Athletes And Fans Are Asked To Take Action
“This generation of Black athletes understands something that those who came before them were never afforded the chance to say so plainly: your talent is yours, and so is your community’s political power,” said Tylik McMillan, National Director of the NAACP Youth and College Division.
“These are not separate issues. The state that is working to erase your grandmother’s congressional district is the same state whose governor will stand on the field and celebrate your touchdown or game-winning shot. We are asking young people, recruits, current athletes, fans, to see that connection clearly and to act on it. The Out of Bounds campaign is about redirecting what has always been ours, power and perseverance.”
The NAACP’s “Out of Bounds” campaign calls for three main actions:
- Black athletes and recruits are asked to withhold commitments from targeted programs and seriously consider HBCUs.
- Current college athletes are asked to use their platforms to elevate the issue and ask institutional leadership for public statements opposing racial vote dilution.
- Fans, alumni, donors and consumers are asked to stop purchasing tickets, merchandise and licensed apparel from targeted programs and redirect that spending to HBCUs, their athletic programs, scholarship funds, NIL collectives, bands and alumni foundations.
Congressional Black Caucus Backs Pressure On College Sports Leaders
The Congressional Black Caucus has also backed the campaign. According to reporting from the Associated Press, the CBC said it would oppose college sports legislation known as the SCORE Act unless major athletic conferences speak out against redistricting efforts that reduce Black voting power.
The SCORE Act is aimed at creating a national framework for college athlete compensation and contracting rights. CBC members said they cannot support legislation benefiting major athletic institutions while those institutions remain silent as Black voting rights and Black political power are challenged across the South.
“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.”
Campaign Will Continue Until States Change Course
The NAACP said “Out of Bounds” will remain in effect until targeted states adopt state level voting rights protections, repeal maps that dilute Black voting power, restore congressional and judicial districts that reflect the strength of Black populations, and commit to transparent redistricting processes centered on impacted communities.
The organization’s message is direct: “No Representation. No Recruitment. No Revenue.”
The campaign places college athletics directly inside the national fight over voting rights, using the financial power of sports to pressure states and institutions that benefit from Black athletes while remaining silent on policies affecting Black political representation.
