The NAACP’s Sports Boycott Targets the Wrong Group of Black Americans
Combating racism through sports is a shot in the dark. Encouraging students to withdraw from these schools is a better option.
By Carron J. Phillips
Asking Black athletes to participate in a boycott in the post-Colin Kaepernick era is to set them up for failure.
The idea behind the boycott is noble, but the chosen participants are not. Athletes have proved incapable of sustaining stances against oppression. Relying on them again would be like throwing a Hail Mary in a tornado.
“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,” National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President & CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement about why the organization wants Black athletes to withhold support for public colleges and universities in states that are attacking Black voting rights. “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 NAACP’s boycott seeks to highlight how predominantly white institutions (PWIs) and their fan bases should not be able to enjoy the luxuries of having Black bodies on the field and the court while suppressing the Black mind and vote. The hope is that representation, recruiting, and revenue will be impacted enough to enact change in states like Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, which make up a majority of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Atlantic Coast Conference and where college football and basketball — that often feature rosters that are majority Black — are treated like religion. These states need to be held accountable for their overt gerrymandering to extinguish the Black vote after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act.
On the surface, the NAACP’s efforts seem well-intentioned. However, on second glance, you realize that young people — in a name-image-likeness world — are being tasked with doing something that turned their heroes in the NFL and across the sports world into quitters. We watched as Kaepernick’s protest was upended by his own people. For instance, former All-Pro defensive back Malcolm Jenkins stopped his on-field protest of raising his fist during the national anthem as soon as the NFL pledged $89 million to social initiatives, all but ending on-field demonstrations. A few years later, Jay-Z struck a deal with the league and infamously told the world and White America that “I think we have moved past kneeling.” Perhaps choosing who performs during the Super Bowl Halftime Show was more important than continued awareness against systemic racism.
It was cool to take a stand in 2016 and after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. But, ever since, Black athletes have been disengaged — especially during Donald Trump’s second term in office.
Black athletes have often been placed on pedestals and shielded by society — which at times can change their views on how to address and deal with social issues and racism, despite having dealt with it themselves. The fear of “losing it all” for speaking out is a powerful mute button. And given what we know, putting the weight of serious matters on the backs of students whose main priority in school is to major in “ball” isn’t the best plan of action.
Furthermore, while the NAACP calls for a boycott of these schools, history shows that such actions are unlikely to deter fans from watching games. Protests in sports over the years haven’t negatively affected TV ratings.
“I have issues with people whose first move … is to tell somebody else the changes that they should make while they’re just going to watch and cheer them on,” sports commentator Bomani Jones recently said on his podcast.
There’s also the fact that college sports are in flux. Conference expansion and the discussion around how many teams should be allowed to particpate of the College Football Playoff are variables that have to be considered when attempting a boycott. Let’s be clear — this is about football. “I’ve been a huge advocate that if we can’t find rules that everybody plays by, then we should play our own,” said Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart recently, while referring to the idea that the SEC could secede. “I’m not afraid of that. I’m not afraid to break away and say that our conference is strong enough to go out and play.”
If the NAACP wants to make an impact, it should encourage Black students to pivot away from PWIs and turn their attention to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). If athletes choose to remain at schools with powerhouse athletic programs because of NIL opportunities, that is their decision. Strength lies with the many, not the few.
According to a February report from the New York Times that examined significant racial shifts in college enrollment, flagship state universities and less selective colleges have seen notable increases in Black and Hispanic students in response to anti-DEI legislation. “I was stunned when I saw things like the University of Mississippi seeing large gains in enrollment of Black students and the University of Miami seeing a big boost in Latino students,” James S. Murphy, senior fellow for Class Action — a group that works to promote equity in education — was quoted as saying. The report went on to disclose that SEC powerhouse football schools like Tennessee and South Carolina also saw increases in Black freshmen enrollment, along with places like LSU and Ole Miss, a few of the schools the NAACP is targeting.
“You decide you’re not going to go play for those (SEC/ACC) schools, and instead, ‘I will go to a state that respects my people…. Oregon!” Jones sarcastically remarked, emphasizing how schools in the Southern states are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to devaluing Black students, Black people, and Black minds. “In fact, they do not respect you in this way. The places that you go, I have questions about whether or not they actually have any more respect for you than where it is that you’re ultimately going to wind up.”
The NAACP’s call to action is necessary. At times, sacrifice for the greater good is required. However, the focus should shift to guiding Black students to HBCUs — institutions that were created and still exist for reasons far greater than athletic hubs — rather than worrying about where some choose to play sports and why.
The civil rights movement was fueled by the youth. History proves that they are more than up for the task. Boycotting SEC and ACC athletics isn’t the solution; investing in HBCUs is. The emphasis needs to be less on telling Black students where they shouldn’t go and more on highlighting the importance of “coming home.”
Carron J. Phillips is an award-winning journalist who writes on race, culture, social issues, politics, and sports. He hails from Saginaw, Michigan, and is a graduate of Morehouse College and Syracuse University. Follow his personal Substack to keep up with more of his work.