A North Carolina law that opens the door to discrimination against members of the LGBT community has led the NCAA to take punitive action.
Future NCAA men’s basketball tournament games will not be awarded to sites in that state until the law is addressed, and several other events will be moved.
The NCAA said it will relocate the men’s basketball first- and second-round games that were scheduled for March 17 and 19 in Greensboro. The NCAA will also relocate:
– the Division I women’s soccer championship scheduled for December 2 and 4 in Cary, just outside the capital city of Raleigh
– the Division III men’s and women’s soccer championships set for December 2 and 3 in Greensboro
– the Division I women’s golf regional championships set for May 8-10 in Greenville
– the Division III men’s and women’s tennis championships set for May 22-27 in Cary
– the Division I women’s lacrosse championship set for May 26 and 28 in Cary
– and the Division II baseball championship from May 27 to June 3 in Cary.
“This is an issue that’s fundamental to higher ed.,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said Tuesday on CBS This Morning.
“College sports is conducted inside a university or college context. These are our students. Fairness and inclusion are at the heart of what the NCAA does and what universities do. For our university presidents, this was a proverbial no-brainer.”
Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford said the ACC’s council of presidents will discuss the future of its football championship game from Charlotte at a meeting this week.
Swofford does not expect the game to be moved at this time, but added: “On a personal note, it’s time for this bill to be repealed, as it is counter to basic human rights.”
The law requires transgender people to use restrooms at schools and government buildings corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates. It also excludes gender identity and sexual orientation from local and statewide antidiscrimination protections.
HB2 was signed into law by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory earlier this year.
“I wish the NCAA was this concerned about the women who were raped at Baylor,” North Carolina Republican Party spokeswoman Kami Mueller said Monday night.
The only championship events that can be hosted in North Carolina this academic year are ones determined when a team earns the right to play on its own campus.
The NBA moved its 2017 All-Star Game to New Orleans from Charlotte because of the law. Albany cancelled its game at Duke because New York has enacted a public employee travel ban to North Carolina, and the Vermont women’s basketball team cancelled a game at the University of North Carolina.
Anthem protests continue in NFL
Colin Kaepernick continued his dignified protest against unwarranted police violence against black men during the national anthem of Monday’s NFL game between his San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams.
He was joined again by safety Eric Reid, and both received hugs from fellow players at the song’s conclusion. Kaepernick entered the game late in the fourth quarter and was booed by the home fans, many of whom chanted “USA, USA.”
The previous day – the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks – several other players showed solidarity with Kaepernick in some fashion and two teams decided to lock arms while standing for the anthem.
Last Thursday, Denver Broncos linebacker took a knee during the anthem. He was not booed by the hometown fans. They saved their in-game ire for Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, who stood at attention during the anthem.
Marcus Peters of the Kansas City Chiefs had my favorite demonstration. While his team locked arms before the season opener against the San Diego Chargers, he left his right arm free to raise his fist in the air. All that was missing was a black glove.
“I come from a majority-black community from Oakland, California … so the struggle, I seen it,” Peters said after the Chiefs beat San Diego 33-27 in overtime. “I still have some family in the struggle. All I’m saying is we want to educate those, the youth that’s coming up.”
On Monday night, the L.A. Rams’ Robert Quinn and Kenny Britt also stood with their right fists raised. I guess we already know how that would have went over in St. Louis.
The Seattle Seahawks also linked arms before the home game against the Miami Dolphins, and wide receiver Doug Baldwin released this statement before the game via a video: “Progress can and will be made only if we stand together.”
Across the field, Arian Foster, Michael Thomas, Jenkins and Kenny Stills of the Dolphins stood for President Obama’s message honoring the 15th anniversary of 9/11 and then took a knee for the anthem
“If it’s about the knee that people are upset about, every Sunday people of faith take a knee to give thanks to their lord and savior, whatever faith or religion that they are,” Foster said.
“It’s not about a knee, it’s not about the (symbolism), it’s about the message. They say it’s not the time to do this, but when is the time?”
Alvin A. Reid is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook and appears on ABC’s The Allman Report and several sports radio shows. His Twitter handle is @aareid1.
