The NAACP just advised athletes not to sign with Texas pro sports teams
Why? Because Texas’s recent actions are a declaration of civil war on the U.S. Constitution
On October 28th, the NAACP issued an open letter to players associations for the NBA, NFL, WNBA, MLB, and NHL advising athletes not to sign with any of the nine professional sports teams from Texas. Citing recent legislation designed to make voting more difficult for the poor and People of Color as well as abortion laws that are the most restrictive in the country, the NAACP called the laws “a blueprint by legislators to violate constitutional rights for all.” NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson made it clear why this appeal is so important: “Professional athletes serve as some of our country's greatest role models and we need them to join us to fight for democracy.”
If anything, the NAACP understated just how serious this fight is right now and how dangerous Texas has become to the United States and the constitutional principles we stand for.
In his ruthless ambition to become the next president, Gov. Gregory Abbott has turned Texas into the Imperial Death Star targeting women, African Americans, Latinx, the poor, the elderly, and LGBTQ+ as expendable stepping stones to his glorious assumption of the power of the White House. It’s a scorched-earth campaign except that the charcoaled bones are of everyone who doesn’t look, think, or love like him.
Ironically, for a party that rejects too much government interference as socialist or communist, Abbott’s GOP is looking downright Maoist. But Gov. Abbott, facing his lowest approval rating yet from Texans, pushes on in a desperate attempt to salvage his waning popularity by setting fire to the rights of everyone he doesn’t approve of, as if he’s the strict father looking over his precious daughter’s suitors, none of whom are worthy because they aren’t him.
Let’s examine some of the main issues where Abbott’s Texas has raised its flag of defiance. To him and his cronies, defiance is a romanticized ideal of not doing what they’re told. In a sad contradiction, they are merely defying the constitutional principles of equality and the pursuit of happiness they claim to love.
This is a reader-supported newsletter. Both free and paid subscriptions are available. The best way to join the community and support my work is by taking out a paid subscription.
Voting Rights
Nothing shouts that you are a political party losing popularity than those still in office gerrymandering districts to exclude voting power from those who disagree. Texas Republicans saw that there was a rise in Democrat and Independent voters so they redrew the voting districts to take away their voting power. The new redistricting will likely ensure Republican control of at least 24 of the 38 congressional seats, with the possibility of a couple more. While this is technically legal—and Democrats have done the same thing in the past—it is ethically a form of cheating. The fact that they can get away with it doesn’t make it any less right. It definitely isn’t an American value.
Equally damaging to democracy is Texas’s Senate Bill 1, signed into law in September that makes it harder to vote, especially for poor people, people on fixed incomes, the elderly, and minorities, which just happen to be groups more likely to vote Democrat.
I’d like to believe that one of our country’s sacred values is that the person with the best ideas should be elected, not the party that prevents those that disagree with them from voting.