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Black Athletes Could CRIPPLE College Football Over Southern Anti-Black Voting Rights Attacks

2026-05-27 News & Politics
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Roland S. Martin
Roland S. Martin
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The NAACP is calling on Black athletes, alumni, and supporters to pressure predominantly white state schools in states attacking Black voting rights, arguing that Black athletic labor powers billion-dollar college football programs across the South. For free and unbiased Medicare help, dial (724) 264-8281 to speak with my trusted partner, Chapter, or go to https://askchapter.org/roland *Paid Partnership* Roland Martin and sports journalist Howard Bryant break down the NAACP’s call for Black athletes and supporters to reconsider backing schools in states undermining Black voting rights and Black political power. The conversation focuses on the enormous economic leverage Black athletes hold inside college football, especially across the South, and whether that leverage can be used to pressure states attacking voting rights, DEI programs, and Black representation. Bryant argues the backlash to the proposal reflects a broader culture of individualism and political disengagement, while Roland points to historical examples where Black athlete activism forced major institutional change. The segment repeatedly emphasizes that Black athletes are not powerless participants in college sports — they are the economic engine driving the system. #RolandMartinUnfiltered #BlackStarNetwork #CollegeFootball #BlackAthletes #VotingRights #NAACP #SportsBoycott Black Star Network partner: Chapter Chapter and its affiliates are not connected with or endorsed by any government entity or the federal Medicare program. Chapter Advisory, LLC represents Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and PFFS organizations and stand alone prescription drug plans that have a Medicare contract. Enrollment depends on the plan’s contract renewal. While we have a database of every Medicare plan nationwide and can help you to search among all plans, we have contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, we do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 50 organizations which offer 18,160 products nationwide. We search and recommend all plans, even those we don’t directly offer. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-Medicare, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options. We’ve launched our official Telegram channel. Follow for the latest videos from #RolandMartinUnfiltered & Black Star Network. No algorithms. Just updates. 👉🏾 t.me/blackstarnetwork Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjXB7nX8bL2U2sje8d212Yw/join Support #RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork 👉🏾 Use Cash App by visiting Stripe https://buy.stripe.com/7sI3ccgYyfSQ8y45kl 👉🏾 PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Venmo ☛https://venmo.com/rmunfiltered Zelle ☛ [email protected] Annual or monthly recurring #BringTheFunk Fan Club membership via paypal ☛ https://rolandsmartin.com/rmu-paypal/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Top Comments (10)

@gregfoster679 2026-05-27

We need more ORGANIZED SOLIDARITY!

95 10 replies
@miltonsmith6676 2026-05-27

Professional player's are locked in to contract. All Black People ^ people of color should apply for recieve compensation form the president's slush fund. Peace ✌️ and Blessings

40 4 replies
@scottmosley1862 2026-05-27

Don't we ask young people to defend the country that are same age as college kids? I did.

39 2 replies
@jamespierce7006 2026-05-27

Black People keep asking why so many stores in Black neighborhoods are owned by immigrants or foreigners while many Black communities still struggle to build generational business ownership. Living in the grey area means looking beyond emotion and asking how the system of capital actually works. The reality is America never created equal starting lines. Black Americans are about 14% of the U.S. population, yet Black-owned employer businesses make up only around 3% of businesses nationwide.  Meanwhile immigrant-owned businesses have become a major force in small business America through family lending networks, cultural business systems, community pooling, rotating credit associations, and access to immigration pathways tied to entrepreneurship. Immigrants own nearly 1 out of every 5 employer businesses in America overall.  That does not automatically mean immigrants are the enemy. It means different groups entered the economic system with different levels of access to capital, banking relationships, and institutional support. For decades Black communities faced redlining, discriminatory lending, urban renewal destruction, and unequal access to commercial financing. Large banks dramatically reduced lending in Black neighborhoods after the 2008 financial crisis even while other communities recovered.  The government says it has increased SBA lending to Black-owned businesses in recent years. SBA-backed loans to Black entrepreneurs more than doubled after 2020 according to federal data.  But even with those increases, the percentage of Black entrepreneurs receiving business loans still remains below population parity. Brookings reported only about 6.5% of Black business owners were approved for SBA loans in recent years, while many still rely on self-funding or alternative lenders because traditional banks reject them at higher rates.  Living in the grey area means understanding the contradiction. America celebrates Black culture globally, but Black ownership of land, distribution, manufacturing, banking, and retail infrastructure still lags behind. Many neighborhoods generate billions in consumer spending while much of the ownership leaves the community. The conversation should not become “foreigners versus Black Americans.” The deeper issue is who controls capital, who gets access to startup money, who owns the buildings, who receives favorable lending, and who has systems that teach business ownership across generations. A community without ownership becomes a permanent customer base for somebody else’s economy.

34 11 replies
@joybunn 2026-05-28

Yes I'm from Missouri when I was growing up lived in segregation The midwest is just as racist as the South but they try to hide 😢in plain sight.

19 3 replies
@MadelineLawrence-z6h 2026-05-27

It is for their benefit in this country students and their children’s children let education be the priority Thank you gentlemen

18 1 replies
@BerkeleyMelrose 2026-05-27

Maybe Kylin Hill can speak to these young Black athletes‼️I mean if Jaxson Dart can speak at political rallies then it must be ok for current NFL players like Kylin Hill to be politically active too‼️

15 1 replies
@crob949 2026-05-27

I live in Missouri and Missouri did the redistricting too!!!!! Missouri is also in the SEC and it’s a shame no one has talked about black athletes banning this university too, they are doing away with all things diversity on the campus too, it’s just not looked at as the south.

10 10 replies
@NorCalTrojanman91 2026-05-27

We need to remind our athletes that the majority of "them folks" don't want you to get any type of bag. If they allow the loss of Black political power, "them folks" gon rush legislation taking NIL money away from college sports. By protecting voting rights they are in fact protecting their tights to secure a bag.

3 1 replies
@arionthegameryt6693 2026-05-28

This is a horrible idea Martin. These kids and families are not gonna do this. This isn't fair to the kids trying to pursue a dream of financial security. Question? Why is it the kids responsibility to do what the NAACP is paid to do? Too many years of people that claim to represent us and have our best interest in mind do nothing but get paid by white Israel handlers who pay and controll them? Before anyone says that's not true. There is a video recording of this.

2

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