Yeadon native Jordan Johnson, a nose tackle on the gridiron, has joined Garden City Community College football coach Jeff Sims and 48 other players in filing a discrimination complaint with the NAACP about Kansas’s out-of-state conference rule.

They contend it is unconstitutional and violates the Civil Rights Act, writes Roxana Hegeman for The Associated Press.

The rule was introduced during the desegregation era in Kansas to limit out-of-state players on Jayhawk Conference football and basketball teams. It restricts community colleges to 20 out-of-state football players and eight on their basketball rosters.

While supporters claim the rule protects opportunities for Kansas students, opponents contend it discriminates against the mostly black, out-of-state players.

Johnson, a Penn Wood High School graduate and Garden City student, wrote in his complaint that junior colleges in his home state with football programs cost significantly more to attend. He also indicated that he wanted to study outside of Pennsylvania to see a different side of America.

“I believe I should be able to do that and pursue my dreams,” said Johnson. “I would rather be told that I wasn’t good enough to make a team than that I cannot play because of the color of my skin and where I am from.”

Read more about the complaint from The Associated Press by clicking here.