As House Democrats and the NAACP encourage black athletes to consider avoiding scholarships at certain Southern universities over redistricting disputes, Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, is pushing back—calling the effort a political maneuver that undermines opportunities for young athletes. Speaking to The Daily Signal, Owens criticized what he described as “black elitists” seeking to “take the dreams of young black people away so that they can keep theirs.” The debate comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, the landmark congressional redistricting case. During a press conference, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said he continues “to stand with the NAACP in encouraging athletes in our community to look elsewhere until these racially gerrymandered maps in the South are reversed.” Ahead of the press conference, the NAACP called on current and prospective black athletes, their families, alumni, and fans to “withhold athletic and financial support” from major public universities in states that “have moved to limit, weaken or erase black voting representation.” The effort is part of the organization’s “Out of Bounds” campaign. Owens, a former NFL player who was among the first black athletes to receive a football scholarship to the University of Miami, said the push is a move from these “black elitist” to urge young black athletes from pursuing top opportunities. “They want our black kids not to go to the best schools for athletics, as a way of boycotting, because they’re not gonna keep their jobs as a politician,” Owens said. “So it shows, really, where the priorities are. It is not about our kids. It’s not about the opportunities our kids can work hard and learn and get into the middle class and move forward.” He added that the motivation behind the call to boycott is political rather than about voting rights. “It’s not about that. It’s, ‘I’m about to lose my seat in Alabama, in Florida, in Texas. So I want you to boycott. I want you not to go to that school you want to go to in order to build your dreams so that I can keep mine,’” Owens said. Owens also warned that the effort could alienate voters, arguing it reinforces concerns that Democrat leaders are out of touch with the communities they claim to represent. “Blacks are gonna start realizing you don’t care about them,” he said, calling the NAACP initiative “not a good idea.” “Maybe [they] should pull back on doing that,” Owens added. He said young athletes are unlikely to follow such guidance, arguing they will choose schools that offer the best path to success. “These kids are not going to listen to some elitists in D.C. telling them not to go to a school that’s going to help them get to the NFL,” Owens said. “It’s just gonna happen.” Jeffries, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the NAACP did not respond to The Daily Signal’s multiple requests for comment.