There was a similar message echoed toward bidding for relocated NCAA championships.
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A key North Carolina House Republican leader says there’s no broad appetite now among fellow Republican colleagues in the chamber for a special General Assembly session for changes to the law known as House Bill 2. “House Bill 2 must be repealed, and it’s costing the state of North Carolina millions – hundreds of millions – of dollars”.
The S.C. Sports Alliance, which represents metro areas throughout the state, already has expressed its interest to the NCAA, and will do so with the ACC, president Kathleen Cartland said Wednesday.
The Charlotte Observer reported (http://bit.ly/2d31A33 ) McCrory showed no signs of backing off his position defending the law.
McCrory gave a midday speech in his hometown of Charlotte on Thursday, the day after the Atlantic Coast Conference removed several championship events from North Carolina, including the football title game in Charlotte.
“It’s one thing for Bruce Springsteen to pull concerts and for PayPal to pull jobs”, Bitzer said, but “when you’re talking about the heart of a sports conference in a state with such loyalty that’s a real punch in the gut about this policy decision, and who’s to be held responsible for it”.
In a move that mirrors the NCAA’s decision to pull championship events from North Carolina, the Atlantic Coast Conference says it is relocating all upcoming major championships, citing the state’s HB2 law that limits civil rights protections for LGBT people.
“I think it was the right decision”.
Scott Dupree, executive director of the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, told The Associated Press that the recent announcements by the NCAA and ACC were “unprecedented and historically bad” for the state’s sports event industry, and opened the door for the Palmetto State. “But it is consistent with the shared values of inclusion and non-discrimination at all our institutions”.
It’s unclear whether the law is actually costing McCrory supporters, but the economic hits keep playing into the hands of Democratic challenger Attorney General Roy Cooper, who wants the law repealed. We believe North Carolina House Bill 2 is inconsistent with these values, and as a result, we will relocate all neutral site championships for the 2016-17 academic year.
Moore said the organizations can host events wherever they choose but the “law was never about and does not promote discrimination”. “I am hopeful that losing the NBA All-Star game, the NCAA championships and now the ACC championships, will once and for all convince North Carolina legislators that they are on the wrong side of history and that LGBT athletes and fans deserve to be protected and respected on the field and under the law”.
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Statement from ACC Commissioner John Swofford: “The ACC Council of Presidents made it clear that the core values of this league are of the utmost importance, and the opposition to any form of discrimination is paramount”. The NCAA was scheduled to play first- and second-round games of its 2017 men’s basketball tournament in Greensboro.
