NAACP Calls on Black Athletes to Boycott Florida Schools Over DEI Ban

Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, and Leon W. Russell, chair of the NAACP’s national board of directors, sent a letter to current and future student-athletes of the National Collegiate Athletic Association asking them to reconsider their decision to attend a college or university in Florida because the state banned funding for DEI to schools.

“This is not about politics,” reads the letter, which the duo sent Monday. “It’s about the protection of our community, the progression of our culture, and most of all, it’s about your education and your future.”

“This is not simply about sports," the letter continued. "It’s about acknowledging and advocating for the rights and supports of Black students within educational environments.”

So that's what DEI does? Could have fooled me.

“Diversity, equity, and inclusion are paramount to ensuring equitable and effective educational outcomes,” Johnson said in a statement accompanying the letter, which NBC News first reported. “The value Black and other college athletes bring to large universities is unmatched.”

And there you have it. DEI should never ensure equitable "outcomes" of any kind. If you're going to have a DEI policy, it should work to ensure equal opportunity, not "equality of outcomes."

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) is exactly right, and the NAACP is horribly wrong.

DEI is toxic and has no place in our public universities.

I’m glad that Florida was the first state to eliminate DEI and I hope more states follow suit. https://t.co/oThvwowKu6

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 1, 2024

NBC News:

In recent years, Republican politicians, conservative activists and right-wing social media influencers have railed against DEI programs and an array of sociopolitical ideas they characterize as “wokeness.” The proponents of DEI in education have argued that such efforts are essential to make schools more racially and socially inclusive.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed a law last year ordering DEI offices at all state-funded colleges and universities to shut down. In the current legislative session, GOP lawmakers in more than 30 states have introduced or passed more than 100 bills to either restrict or regulate DEI efforts writ large, according to an NBC News analysis.

The lack of data supporting DEI programs is a clear indication that even looking to dictate racial outcomes is bogus. 

“Florida’s rampant anti-Black policies are a direct threat to the advancement of our young people and their ability to compete in a global economy,” Johnson said in a statement. 

“The value Black and other college athletes bring to large universities is unmatched,” he added. “If these institutions are unable to completely invest in those athletes, it’s time they take their talents elsewhere.”

Making sure college kids remain eligible to play football or basketball doesn't improve their ability to compete in a global economy.

And what does "completely invest" in the athletes mean? Orwell would be proud.

The NAACP issued a travel advisory for Florida last year, stating in part: "Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color." 

I daresay that 10 times more black people were killed in New York City than in the entire state of Florida because of any policies that DeSantis instituted. PR stunts like this and the letter to athletes is all the NAACP can do these days.