The NAACP launched the Out of Bounds campaign on Tuesday, calling on Black athletes, families, alumni, and fans to boycott athletic programs at public universities in states restricting Black voting rights. The boycott targets eight states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee. These states have moved to draw new voter maps following the Supreme Court's Louisiana v Callais decision, which severely weakened the Voting Rights Act.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson stated that Black athletes have helped build some of the most profitable college athletic programs in the country, with flagship programs in these states generating more than 100 million dollars in annual revenue. Johnson argued that Black athletes should not generate wealth, prestige, and power for state institutions while those same states strip political power from Black communities. House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries amplified these calls, describing the situation as an unprecedented attack on Black political representation requiring an unprecedented response.
The Congressional Black Caucus is also applying pressure to athletic leagues. In a letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker and the commissioners of the SEC and ACC, the caucus stated it will oppose the SCORE Act, a bill meant to standardize athletes' contracting rights, unless conference leaders oppose the Republican-led redistricting efforts in states that include major conference members. The CBC asserted that institutions profiting from Black talent have a responsibility to stand with those communities when fundamental rights are under attack, stating that silence in the face of injustice is complicity.