The NCAA announced on Monday that it will be pulling championship events from North Carolina over its HB2 bathroom bill.
The NCAA’s Board of Governors decided to move seven championship events from North Carolina to promote “an inclusive atmosphere for all college athletes, coaches, administrators and fans.”
The seven championship events being pulled from North Carolina are as follows:
- College Cup 2016 Division I Women’s Soccer Championship
- 2016 Division III Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championships
- 2017 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship (Rounds 1&2)
- Regional 2017 Division I Women’s Golf Championships
- 2017 Division III Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships
- 2017 Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship
- 2017 Division II Baseball Championship
The NCAA is currently looking for new locations to hold these events and will announce its decision soon. Championship events that will have student-athletes playing on their own campuses in North Carolina won’t be moved.
According to the NCAA, there were four major factors in North Carolina that resulted in its pulling the championship events from the state. This includes the following:
- The state doesn’t allow transgender individuals to use bathrooms that don’t match their gender.
- It allows government officials to refuse service to members of the LGBT community.
- The state invalidates local laws that list sexual orientation as a protected class.
- There are five states that don’t allow public employees and representatives of public institutions to the state, which could include some college athletes and athletic staff.
“I wish the NCAA was this concerned about the women who were raped at Baylor,” Kami Mueller, the spokesman for the North Carolina Republican Party, said in a statement obtained by The Washington Post. “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.”
The NCAA isn’t the only one refusing to hold events in North Carolina over its HB2 bathroom bill. Ringo Starr and Maroon 5 both cancelled concerts over the bill. It was also this same bill that prompted Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) to weigh in on transgender bathroom issues.
