The NCAA Board of Governors says that they will allow their championships to be hosted in North Carolina again next year, after the repeal of the state’s controversial HB2 law and replacement with a new law, HB142. The Board of Governors, while saying that “as with most compromises, this new is far from perfect,” that they are willing to let their championships return to the state.
“We are actively determining site selections, and this new law has minimally achieved a situation where we believe NCAA championships may be conducted in a nondiscriminatory environment. If we find that our expectations of a discrimination-free environment are not met, we will not hesitate to take necessary action at any time,” a press release read.
“We have been assured by the state that this new law allows the NCAA to enact its inclusive policies by contract with communities, universities, arenas, hotels, and other service providers that are doing business with us, our students, other participants, and fans. Further, outside of bathroom facilities, the new law allows our campuses to maintain their own policies against discrimination, including protecting LGBTQ rights, and allows cities’ existing nondiscrimination ordinances, including LBGTQ protections, to remain effective.”
The NCAA says that a marjority of the Board of Governors “reluctantly voted to allow consideration of championship bids in North Carolina by our committees that are presently meeting.”
The old HB2 law, called more fully the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, mandated that people must use the bathroom or locker room that corresponds to the sex on their birth certificates in all government buildings. The state-wide law was in response to a law passed by the city of Charlotte that did just the opposite – banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation of gender identity.
The new law, HB142, says that until 2020, says that government entities are not able to enact rules on bathrooms, showers, or changing rooms and bans local governments from enacting or amending an “ordinance regulating private employment practices or regulating public accommodations” until December 1, 2020. In effect, the new law repeals both HB2 and the Charlotte law, returning the state to where it was pre-2016: without any specific laws on who is and is not allowed to use which bathrooms.
Lawmakers say that they intend the 2020 date to give federal regulators and the national debate time to develop.
While the NCAA will not return any of its 4 remaining championships to the state this season (Divsion I women’s golf regional, Division III men’s and women’s tennis championships, Division I women’s lacrosse championship, or Division II baseball championship) to the state, that all scheduled 2017-2018 events will remain as planned, pending any new developments.
3 prior championships (Division I women’s soccer, Division III men’s and women’s soccer, and Division I men’s basketball first and second rounds) were previously played in other states.
The ACC, who followed the NCAA’s lead in pulling its championships, including the ACC men’s and women’s swimming & diving championships, from North Carolina, has not made an announcement as to what they plan to do, but are expected to come to a similar conclusion as the NCAA. The ACC is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Other sporting events moved from the state include the NBA All-Star game, which was relocated to New Orleans.
Politifact has estimated that fallout from the HB2 bill was between $450 million and $630 million to the state in the form of lost jobs from companies cancelling plans there, and several entertainment events both in and out of the world of sports that pulled out. CNN estimates that the ACC ban cost the state $77.1 million in direct spending on sporting events, with the ACC swimming & diving championships having a $72,000 impact on Greensboro.
What law does California have to repeal to get the NCAA DI swim championships? For the men, in the 39 years since the last championship in California, California teams have won 13 of the championships, with 21 second-place finishes. For the women, in the 26 years of NCAA Women’s D1 swim championships, California teams have won 14 and finished second 13 times, but never has the meet been in California.
M__T – I can’t speak for why, historically, the meets were never hosted there. The modern problem is lack of a suitable facility. There currently isn’t an indoor facility in the state that would meet unofficial expectations for NCAA hosting. This was a big issue for proponents of the new Belmont facility – it’s not clear if, in its final form, that facility will be capable either.
That is spot on. California has an abundance of great facilities. Frankly, I think Stanford is the best set up in the country by far. But the NCAA won’t go for any outdoor facilities for the swim championships.
And you can’t blame the NCAA. They can’t afford a rainout. Risking pushing the championships until Sunday, rebooking all of those people for an extra night in hotels, kids missing class…it would be a nightmare.
A minor point on the last sentence…. I believe that the quoted $72,000 impact from the ACC S&D champs pulling out was on the aquatic center (which is what the linked article stated). The impact on the city of Greensboro in lost revenue from T&E (hotels, restaurants, etc) for the two meets was far greater than $72K.
So the NBA was unhappy withentry restrictions in bathrooms in NC so sent the All Star game to New Orleans . NO had a record 175 homicides in 2016 & a low clearance rate due to unfilled city police positions because of said danger .
Clearly NBA supports murder . Considering the NBA is , like NO , majority black & the victims & perpetuators majority black – you’d think they’d take a stand on that . Nobody that has entered the ‘ wrong’ bathroom in NC has been murdered .
Horrible comparison, as last time I checked murder was illegal in NOLA. The law in NC was essentially making discrimination legal. I am sure that if murder was made legal in NOLA, that the NBA would take a stand there.
If you want to have a bone to pick with the NCAA over this, then question why women sports did not have to avoid NC for NCAA championships. First and 2nd rounds of their basketball tournament were still held in NC. Or ask why other sports like Baseball, Tennis, or lax (both men’s and women’s) held early rounds of their tournaments in NC. I know it is because they were held on campus sites, but it was a weak… Read more »
I’m embarrassed to be on the same website as such a stupid comparison.
The NCAA is lousy. Stick their nose into state level politics but no mention of the loss of two D1 swim programs over the past week. How about taking away NCAA business from states that don’t fund their public schools well enough to offer swimming (and other specific athletic opportunities) to any sexual orientation individual?
I mean obviously pissed about the loss of Buffalo and North Dakota. And if the NCAA had any power to save those programs I wish they used it.
But I’m all for the NCAA stepping in here. Any thing to hurt North Carolina is appreciated. It is part of an agenda and I hope the lawmakers who drew up HB2 get voted out next election.
Respectfully disagree in general as i don’t think this is what the NCAA should step into. But I do agree that voting is the way to get things changed. But I don’t understand why those of us uncomfortable with these bathroom arrangements are marginalized. I think you have to realize that there are 2 “agendas” here, not just that of those who don’t want these bathroom rule changes.
Should the NCAA step in at a university who has an agender individual who is being forced to compete on a specific gender team, use that genders bathroom, wear a that genders suit, etc?
I don’t have a whole lot of sympathy for people who feel marginalized by these bathroom arrangements. You’re going to talk to someone else for that.
You must generally be an unsympathetic person then.
Shame on you. “Anything to hurt North Carolina is appreciated”… as long as it isn’t your state it is A-okay with you. This is exactly what is wrong with America..
No, fear and hate inspired baseless policy decisions are exactly what is wrong with America. If you’re not ready to face fallout from this kind of lawmaking then maybe you should think a little harder about who you vote into office. Don’t expect this to stop any time soon.
Reeeee