N.C.A.A. snatches championship events from North Carolina

The N.C.A.A. — or National Collegiate Athlete Association for those who might not be a sports supporter — will relocate all championship tournament games scheduled to take place in the state over the coming academic year, the organization announced Monday night.

The decision to move the games stems from the anti-queer legislation, House Bill 2, that bans individuals from using public bathrooms that do not correspond with their biological sex, according to a court document.

Among the events affected is the Division I men’s basketball tournament, the N.C.A.A.’s most prominent annual event, which had six first- and second-round games scheduled to be played in Greensboro in March.

Based on the NCAA’s commitment to fairness and inclusion, the Association will relocate all seven previously awarded championship events from North Carolina during the 2016-17 academic year. The NCAA Board of Governors made this decision because of the cumulative actions taken by the state concerning civil rights protections. 

In its decision Monday, the Board of Governors emphasized that NCAA championships and events must promote an inclusive atmosphere for all college athletes, coaches, administrators and fans. Current North Carolina state laws make it challenging to guarantee that host communities can help deliver on that commitment if NCAA events remained in the state, the board said. 

Although the NBA already moved its 2017 All-Star game from the state, the newest withdrawal hits particularly hard as college basketball plays a huge part in the state’s pride. North Carolina has hosted more men’s basketball tournament games than any other state, an N.C.A.A. spokesman said.

And just in case anyone was still confused by why, the N.C.A.A. spelled it out very clearly in the press release saying …

• North Carolina laws invalidate any local law that treats sexual orientation as a protected class or has a purpose to prevent discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals.
• North Carolina has the only statewide law that makes it unlawful to use a restroom different from the gender on one’s birth certificate, regardless of gender identity.
• North Carolina law provides legal protections for government officials to refuse services to the LGBT community.
• Five states plus numerous cities prohibit travel to North Carolina for public employees and representatives of public institutions, which could include student-athletes and campus athletics staff. These states are New York, Minnesota, Washington, Vermont and Connecticut.

Obviously the state’s GOP had a very odd, and hateful response to the decision that came out late Monday night written by spokeswoman Kami Mueller.

This is so absurd it’s almost comical. I genuinely look forward to the NCAA merging all men’s and women’s teams together as singular unisex teams. Under the NCAA’s logic, colleges should make cheerleaders and football players share bathrooms, showers and hotel rooms. This decision is an assault to female athletes across the nation. 

It continues..

I wish the NCAA was this concerned about the women who were raped at Baylor. Perhaps the NCAA should stop with their political peacocking — and instead focus their energies on making sure our nation’s collegiate athletes are safe, both on and off the field.