Outside of events hosted on campus sites, there will be no Division-I postseason in North Carolina this academic year.
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“The decision to move the neutral-site championships out of North Carolina while HB2 remains the law was not an easy one, but it is consistent with the shared values of inclusion and non-discrimination at all of our institutions”.
And although the ACC men’s basketball tournament will be played in NY next year, that tournament has only been played outside of North Carolina 12 times since 1954. More than 20 states are challenging the federal government on restroom use by transgender people.
Critics of the law point out there is no evidence that anti-discrimination ordinances in more than 100 USA cities and states have endangered the safety of women or children.
Attorney General Roy Cooper is trying to unseat McCrory in November.
State Democratic Party Executive Director Kimberly Reynolds also said the ACC’s decision could have been easily avoided with a repeal. In addition to the ACC’s decision to move their title games out of the state, several other high profile events have been cancelled including concerts by Bruce Springsteen, Demi Lovato, and Maroon 5.
Four out of the 15 member schools are in North Carolina: Duke, NC State, UNC and Wake Forest. They said the schools remain committed to welcoming and supporting all people and protecting people from discrimination in many ways, including discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The decision deals yet another blow to North Carolina’s image and its economy following the passage of HB 2.
Just two days after the NCAA announced it is moving all its 2016-2017 championship events out of North Carolina, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) announced today, Wednesday, Sept. 14, that it is following suit. The two college athletics organizations cited the law in announcing their decision.
This means the Pitt football team will have to find a new destination for the goal it set at the start of training camp — to make it to Charlotte for the ACC championship game.
On Monday, the NCAA said it was relocating seven of its championships scheduled to be played in the state, including the men’s basketball first- and second-round matchups scheduled for next March in Greensboro, North Carolina.
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“The A.C.C. 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”, Commissioner John Swofford said in a statement.
