NAACP calls for college sports boycott at Southern schools, including South Carolina

The NAACP has launched a new campaign that calls for athletes, alumni and fans of public universities in the South to withhold both athletic and financial support. 

The campaign, titled "Out of Bounds," was launched in response to what the organization calls an attack on Black voting rights in the South. The campaign is directed at eight states in the southeast, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. 

"Across the South, Black athletes have helped build some of the most profitable college athletic programs in America, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue," the NAACP's campaign writes. "At the same time, several southern state governments are moving to limit, reduce, weaken, or erase Black voting representation by creating new, unconstitutional voting districts. 

You can't have one without the other. Profiting off of Black athletes while suppressing their vote is out of bounds."

Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Louisiana v. Callais that struck down a gerrymandered congressional map within the state that included a majority black district. With the decision, the court enacted new restrictions on the use of race in lawsuits using the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that prohibited the use of racial discrimination in voting. 

The court's decision specifically dealt with Section 2 of the law, which previously allowed people to sue against existing laws that denied equal political opportunity for voters to elect their candidates of choice. The court's decision places new restrictions on the use of race in VRA lawsuits. Critics of the decision say that the result guts black representation for those who live in black-majority districts, whereas supporters of the decision believe race shouldn’t be a main factor in drawing districts. 

As a result, several southern states have re-drawn or plan to re-draw their congressional maps in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee and South Carolina.  Republicans could reportedly gain up to 14 additional new seats from the new districts. 

Here's more from the campaign's website: 

Universities can't actively recruit Black athletes without also advocating for their civil rights. We're calling on Black athletes, families, alumni, and fans to withhold athletic and financial support from public universities in southern states attacking Black voting rights until these states:

-Adopt state Voting Rights Act.
-Withdraw or repeal maps that dilute Black voting power.
-Restore congressional and/or judicial districts that reflect the state's Black population and voting strength.
-Commit to transparent, community-centered redistricting processes.
-Protect districts where Black voters have the opportunity to elect candidates of choice.

It is unclear whether or not South Carolina, or any school associated with the boycott will respond.

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