The NBA moved next year’s all-star game from Charlotte to New Orleans in response to North Carolina’s new bathroom law. On Monday, the NCAA followed suit, announcing it will relocate seven championship events, including the popular March Madness basketball tournament.
According to an NCAA press release, “championships and events must promote an inclusive atmosphere for all college athletes, coaches, administrators and fans.”
The events, previously scheduled in North Carolina during the 2016-2017 season, are expected to be relocated in the near future. The NCAA also cited the state’s legal protection for government officials to refuse services to LGBT people as a reason for its decision. Additionally, they cited fives states and numerous cities that currently prohibit travel to North Carolina for public employees and representatives of public institutions, which may include student-athletes and campus athletic staff. New York, Minnesota, Washington, Vermont, and Connecticut are the states that have banned travel to North Carolina.
The following championship events will be relocated:
- 2016 Division I Women’s Soccer Championship, College Cup (Cary), Dec. 2 and 4.
- 2016 Division III Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championships (Greensboro), Dec. 2 and 3.
- 2017 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, first/second rounds (Greensboro), March 17 and 19.
- 2017 Division I Women’s Golf Championships, regional (Greenville), May 8-10.
- 2017 Division III Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships (Cary), May 22-27.
- 2017 Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship (Cary), May 26 and 28.
- 2017 Division II Baseball Championship (Cary), May 27-June 3.
In the statement, Board of Governors chair and Georgia Institute of Technology president G.P. Peterson said, “As representatives of all three divisions, the Board of Governors must advance college sports through policies that resolve core issues affecting student-athletes and administrators. This decision is consistent with the NCAA’s long-standing core values of inclusion, student-athlete well-being and creating a culture of fairness.”
The state’s bathroom law mandates individuals to use public bathrooms and showers that correspond with the gender on their birth certificate.
The Civitas Institute, a conservative policy organization based in Raleigh, responded to the NCAA on Tuesday.
“This decision from the NCAA is shameful. It is clear they do not understand real discrimination,” the group said in a statement. “China, where true discrimination and human rights violations occur, is OK for games, but a state that is just trying to protect young girls and women is somehow off-limits. Between this and their choice to do nothing about schools graduating athletes who can’t read, and to do nothing about the rape of females by athletes at Baylor, it is clear the NCAA is a bunch of hypocrites. It shows they’re more interested in politics than academic and athletic excellence.”
