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Franklin Graham ‘outraged’ over ACC moving tournament games from NC

House Bill 2 was passed by the GOP-controlled legislature and signed by Republican McCrory to nullify an ordinance passed by the Charlotte City Council.

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In recent years, Jacksonville has hosted early-round action in the men’s basketball tournament at the arena plus track and field regional championships at the University of North Florida.

To get a sense of the economic impact of these moves, we spoke to Steven Totten, a reporter with the Phoenix Business Journal.

North Carolina laws invalidate any local law that treats sexual orientation as a protected class or has a objective to prevent discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals. The decision includes 10 neutral-site championships this academic year, which means relocating the ACC football title game that was scheduled to be played in Charlotte in December.

The ACLU of North Carolina’s legal director, Chris Brook, said it was “beyond shameful that North Carolina’s leaders continue to double down on their support” of a “discriminatory law that is wreaking so much havoc on our state’s people, reputation and economy”.

Earlier this week, the NCAA and ACC chose to pull their conferences out of North Carolina, citing the controversial bathroom bill as the reason for their decision.

“When we were raising the average teacher pay, creating new jobs and cutting taxes, other folks were actually pushing to make our schools allow boys to use the girls’ locker rooms and showers”, McCrory says in a recent television ad.

“This is so absurd it’s nearly comical”, North Carolina Republican Party spokeswoman Kami Mueller said in a statement Monday.

Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and played college basketball at nearby Davidson, said Thursday he has mixed feelings about sporting events leaving the state.

The Atlantic Coast Conference decided Wednesday to pull the football championship out of Charlotte this year for the same reason.

The restaurant and hospitality lobby said North Carolina legislators are prepared to repeal House Bill 2 if the Charlotte City Council repeals its bathroom ordinance. HB 2 also prevents localities from enacting or enforcing LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination laws or setting a minimum wage higher than the state’s.

If the NCAA held itself to the same legal standard to which it seeks to hold North Carolina, Stam wrote, “a male could self-identity as a female and demand a position on [an athletic] team”.

“I don’t think it is going to influence a lot of votes”, Wrenn said. But that’s not even the most cynical part of the North Carolina GOP’s response: “I wish the NCAA was this concerned about the women who were raped at Baylor”, Mueller continued.

– “The NCAA claims that the “dynamic” in North Carolina is different from other states”.

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He said hopes the city can win its NCAA bids.

Here's What George Takei Has to Say About the ACC Pulling Its Championship Out of North Carolina