On Wednesday, the Atlantic Coast Conference followed suit with the NCAA and pulled neutral-site championship events from North Carolina.
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“Certainly, the president agrees with the values that were articulated by the leaders of both the ACC and the NCAA when they talked about their commitment to equality and justice for every American”, Earnest said.
In response to North Carolina’s controversial HB2 law – the “bathroom bill” – first the NCAA and then the ACC announced they would remove championship events from the Tar Heel state in the 2016-17 academic year.
The conference’s official site noted the seven neutral-site championships events that will be moved include football, baseball, women’s soccer, women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s swimming and diving. North Carolina also excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from local and statewide civil rights protections.
“The decision to move the neutral site championships out of North Carolina while HB2 remains the law was not an easy one”, said Clemson President James Clements, chairman of the league’s council. That’s on top of the NCAA’s decision to call off national soccer finals in Cary, March Madness basketball games in Greensboro, and more.
North Carolina’s law has made the state a focal point in the US battle over transgender rights, and the fallout since its passage by the Republican-led legislature continues to build. The championship game has been played at Bank of America Stadium for the last six seasons, with an average attendance of 69,641.
The conference was founded in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The decision by the ACC was announced Wednesday following the NCAA’s Monday decision to move all championship games out of the state for the same reason.
The ACC decision came the same day the NCAA reopened the bidding process for those championships it pulled from the state. As such, we remain dedicated to providing and promoting equal opportunity and non-discrimination to everyone who participates in athletic events on our campuses.
McCrory and his allies blame the Human Rights Campaign, the “sports and entertainment elite” and Democrats for conspiring to make an example out of North Carolina on LGBT rights.
NCAA President Mark Emmert tells The Associated Press the financial impact on the association for moving championship events and tournaments out of North Carolina on short notice has yet to be determined. Camping World Stadium, where the football championship would be played, is already set to host the Florida High School Athletic Association football championships on the weekend of December 3.
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Added state Democratic Party Director Kimberly Reynolds: “How much more money and how many more jobs does North Carolina have to lose before Governor McCrory stops pointing fingers and fixes his mistake?”
