NAACP on Athletes Considering Texas: ‘If You Are Black, Avoid Texas’

Social Justice

By Kelton Brooks Published: November 1, 2021

NAACP on Athletes Considering Texas: ‘If You Are Black, Avoid Texas’

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2018, file photo, a statue in honor of former Olympians Tommie Smith, left, and John Carlos is seen on the campus of San Jose State University in San Jose, Calif. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee heeded calls from American athletes, announcing Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, that it won’t sanction them for raising their fists or kneeling on the medals stand at next year’s Tokyo Games and beyond. It was Rule 50, which prohibits inside-the-lines protests at the games, that most famously led to the ouster of Smith and Carlos from the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City after the sprinters raised their fists on the medals stand to protest racial inequality in the United States. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)

In Summary

The NAACP is urging athletes of all sports to steer clear from Texas due to controversial laws that largely affect men and women of color.

The NAACP has taken a stern and clear message against the state of Texas and are strongly urging athletes to heed their words.

“As we watch an incomprehensible assault on basic human rights unfold in Texas, we are simultaneously witnessing a threat to constitutional guarantees for women, children and marginalized communities,” wrote NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson and NAACP Texas President Gary Bledsoe. “Over the past few months, legislators in Texas have passed archaic policies, disguised as laws, that directly violate privacy rights and a woman’s freedom to choose, restrict access to free and fair elections for Black and brown voters, and increase the risk of contracting coronavirus. If you are a woman, avoid Texas. If you are Black, avoid Texas. If you want to lower your chances of dying from coronavirus, avoid Texas.”

The message stems from Texas Governor Greg Abbott signing restrictive voting laws and an abortion ban.

The abortion law bans women from aborting a fetus after six weeks, which is before some women even know they are pregnant. It is now the most restrictive abortion law in the country and allows private citizens to sue abortion providers and anyone who “aids and abets it.”

While patients cannot be sued, workers, including clinic staff and even rideshare drivers, can be sued for $10,000.

Key changes to Texas voting law:

Setting new rules for voting by mail
Setting new rules for removing people from the voter rolls
Enhancing poll watcher freedom
Regulating donations to counties
Requiring the recording of vote counting
Limiting how local officials can expand voting options
Regulating the distribution of polling places in urban areas
Requiring paper trails for voting

The letter was delivered to the NFLPA, WNBAPA, NBPA, MLBPA and National Hockey League Players’ Association.

“The continued attacks on people of color in the state of Texas are reprehensible,” said Gary Bledsoe, President of the Texas NAACP. “In the absence of federal action, advocates in Texas must stand together and use all of the tools at their disposal to ensure that basic human rights are delivered to the people of Texas. We must fight for our Constitution and the freedoms that it guarantees to all Americans.”