House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has demanded that black athletes across the country boycott Southeastern Conference (SEC) universities in states he says have ‘Jim Crow-like’ redistricting.
Yesterday, Jeffries joined the Congressional Black Caucus and the NAACP to argue that state universities in the SEC – which is the NCAA’s top conference for college athletics – haven’t done enough to counter the largely successful Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts to boost the GOP ahead of the midterm elections.
“This is an unprecedented moment, featuring an unprecedented attack on black political representation, and therefore it requires an unprecedented response,” Jeffries said during a press conference on Capitol Hill.
“We are here standing in solidarity with NAACP in its call for athletes to boycott institutions within the SEC that belong to states that have unleashed these Jim Crow-like racially oppressive tactics, which is unacceptable, unconscionable and un-American,” the New York Democrat continued.
“And we believe that the silence of these institutions is complicity, and we will not stand for it.”
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), along with NAACP, calls for boycotts of institutions within the SEC footprint in favor of SCORE Act
“The silence of the institutions is complicity.. If LSU is for it, we are against it. If Alabama is for it, we are against it. If Ole Miss… pic.twitter.com/E7bXEggbZu
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace) May 19, 2026
“And for us to get through this moment of backlash and usher in a new era of progress, as has been done by generations in the past, it’s going to require character, it’s going to require courage and it’s going to require conviction,” Jeffries continued.
“This is a Bill Russell moment. It’s a Muhammad Ali moment. And it’s a Jackie Robinson moment.”
Jeffries singled out a number of Southern schools, including some of the most powerful and profitable sports programs in the country, including Louisiana State University, the University of Florida, Ole Miss, the University of Alabama, Auburn University, and the University of Tennessee.
“These universities should feel compelled to speak up … because it’s the right thing to do,” Jeffries argued.
“And we’re going to stand together to make sure we bring about the type of country that the African American community deserves and that everyone in the United States of America deserves.”
Jeffries said the initiative to “push back aggressively against the racial gerrymandering that has taken place” will be called “Project 42,” a nod to Brooklyn Dodgers star Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947.
Texas, Missouri, Florida and Tennessee have all redrawn their congressional maps and faced criticism for reconfiguring minority-majority districts.
Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina are also expected to pursue redistricting in response to a landmark Supreme Court ruling last month that outlawed states from drawing congressional districts along racial lines.
However, the SEC is long known as an athletic powerhouse and gives many underserved students a chance to play sports and receive a free education.
Last December, SEC presidents voted to increase the amount of maximum scholarships that are available to its football rosters from the current amount of 85 to 105.
According to reports, black athletes represent a significant demographic across SEC schools, with data from the NCAA indicating that over 50% of football and men’s basketball rosters across the SEC are black athletes.