'Why the fight for civil rights is moving from the courthouse to courtside'

(MS NOW) "In the South especially, college football is not just entertainment. It is culture, money, political influence and state identity rolled into one. Governors campaign on the sidelines, state legislatures protect these programs like state assets and entire economies orbit around them."

"And Black athletes are central to sustaining that political economy."

"For years, universities and athletic conferences have wrapped themselves in the language of diversity, equity and opportunity. They have recruited Black athletes aggressively, celebrated Black excellence on Saturdays and profited from Black visibility, labor and culture."

"But when the rights of Black voters to choose their own representatives are being weakened, those same institutions suddenly become silent."

"The CBC and the NAACP are just calling attention to that inaction. Their mission is to make it politically and economically costly for college athletic institutions to stand on the sidelines. Because this is bigger than sports."

Article at link:

https://www.ms.now/opinion/naacp-college-athletes-voting-rights