NAACP calls on Black student-athletes to consider playing at Florida colleges over DEI controversy

TAMPA, Fla. - The NAACP is calling on Black student-athletes to consider different options after recent decisions to dissolve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs at Florida universities. 

In a letter addressed to NCAA President Charlie Baker and cosigned by NAACP Chairman Leon Russell and NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, Black student-athletes are urged to take their talents elsewhere. 

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"This is not about politics," the letter reads. "It’s about the protection of our community, the progression of our culture, and most of all, it’s about your education, and your future."

Russell and Johnson say universities must recognize the contributions of the Black community and write that Black athletes are uniquely positioned to hit back in a noticeable and potentially costly way when schools do not. 

"Football, in particular, is more than a game—it's a multi-billion-dollar industry, with most revenue earned off the backs of Black student-athletes," said the letter. "This imbalance of power and profit demands a response, particularly because these institutions reap considerable financial benefits from the very individuals they fail to stand by in matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion. If any institution is to reap the benefits of Black talent, it is only right that they completely invest in Black futures."

In January, the  Board of Education voted unanimously to prohibit the use of state and federal funds for any DEI initiatives. 

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Earlier this month, the University of Florida became the first Florida public school to announce it had ended its DEI program and eliminated all department positions.

In a tweet last week, Emmitt Smith, one of the most accomplished and notorious athletes to ever don a Gators’ uniform, said he was ‘utterly disgusted’ by his alma mater's decision to cut DEI. 

"We cannot continue to believe and trust that a team of leaders all made up of the same background will make the right decision when it comes to equality and diversity. History has proven that is not the case," wrote Smith. "We need diverse thinking and backgrounds to enhance our University and the DEI department is necessary to accomplish those goals." 

Meanwhile, Governor DeSantis in his own tweet responding to the University of Florida news wrote, "DEI is toxic and has no place in our public universities.  I’m glad that Florida was the first state to eliminate DEI and I hope more states follow suit." 

DEI programs are used by schools and businesses across the country to provide diversity and inclusion training for employees and to support initiatives aimed at recruiting and retaining students, staff, and faculty from underrepresented populations. 

For example, on its since-deleted page explaining its own Diversity, Equity & Inclusion goals, the UF Health Cancer Center highlighted the importance of DEI efforts in medicine and research:

"The limited diversity in the pool of trainees, researchers and health care workforce contributes to cancer health disparities as diverse researchers often pursue problems beyond the populations that biomedical research currently serves. The distinct challenges of our catchment area, which primarily result from geographic, educational and financial barriers to prevention and care, as well as limited engagement of racially diverse populations in research and clinical trials, require a compassionate and diverse cancer workforce with the scientific skills and cultural sensitivity necessary to promote health equity. 

Achieving this requires the education, training and recruitment of the next generation of cancer researchers, and addressing institutional barriers to retention and promotion to build a workforce that reflects the increasingly diverse U.S. population that has the scientific capabilities, leadership skills and cultural competency to address racial, geographic, structural and socioeconomic disparities in the catchment area and beyond."