NCAA’s hypocritical moves to pull championships from North Carolina over the bathroom bill raises new questions
The NCAA’s decision to pull seven championships out of North Carolina places even more pressure on this college sports-crazy state to repeal its law on bathroom use by transgender people. Privacy advocates point to recent arrests and issues with safety in ladies’ restrooms while the ADF points out how ‘hypocritical’ the NCAA really is.
“The NCAA is demonstrating the most obvious hypocrisy in the political stunt it announced yesterday by removing championship events from North Carolina over a law that is similar to laws in other states where the NCAA has held events for years,” began Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Kellie Fiedorek on the decision.
photo John Hain
“If the NCAA actually believed that no differences exist between men and women, it would merge its men’s and women’s leagues. Instead it hopes no one notices that it appropriately maintains separate leagues for men and women while it opposes the commonsense law that simply protected the privacy rights and dignity interests of North Carolinians. Twenty-three other states explicitly support the freedom of states to set their own policies and laws regarding locker rooms and restrooms, but the NCAA has chosen to engage in political opportunism and make an example of the good people of North Carolina. The NCAA should stick to serving its collegiate athletes and its diverse fan base rather than spending its resources on amateur political posturing and pandering to the narrow-minded power elite.”
Unlike the recent one-time cancellations by the NBA and various rock stars, the move by college sports’ governing body could make moderate and conservative voters question whether the price tag for the law has finally become too high.
Economic development officials said the effect of the NCAA’s action goes well beyond the projected $20 million in lost revenue from the cancellation of the 2016-17 basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, lacrosse and golf events.
“College sports is part of the fabric of North Carolina. It’s part of the culture. I can say with confidence that there’s no other state in the country that loves its college sports more than North Carolina. That’s why it hits so hard and feels so personal,” said Scott Dupree, executive director of the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, which was coordinating four of the events being moved.
The law passed in March requires transgender people to use restrooms in schools and state government buildings that correspond to the gender on their birth certificate. It also excludes gender identity and sexual orientation from statewide antidiscrimination protections.
The Obama administration is suing the state over the measure, calling it discriminatory. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and GOP leaders are defending it as a means of protecting the privacy and safety of women and girls.
