The NAACP took down the Amos and Andy TV Show in 1953.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is telling professional athletes that they should not sign any deals with Texas-based professional sports franchises. The teams included the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball, the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans of the National Football League, the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association, the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League and the Dallas Wings of the Women’s National Basketball Association. The NAACP did not hold back on its criticism of Texas politicians in a two-page letter sent to league players associations. The NAACP told professional athletes who are free agents to avoid signing with teams in Texas because of conservative attacks on voting rights, abortion access and public health measures in the state.
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, along with Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe, wrote Texas has “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.” Major League sports has gone mostly silent on the restrictive voting and abortion laws. Major League Baseball did pull its 2021 All-Star Game out of Cobb County, Georgia because of a new state restrictive voter law. In 2020, all major league sports leagues put out statements expressing support of demonstrations following the George Floyd killing and be more tolerant of athlete’s stances. It appears though sports has gone back to players and owners should be seen and not heard. The NAACP did not tell high school sports stars to boycott Texas schools.
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