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NCAA Falls for HB 2 “Repeal” Gambit

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Ash Orr (they/he)

Today, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced that its Board of Governors had voted—“reluctantly”—to consider sites in North Carolina for championship athletic events, in a reversal of its position on the state’s HB 2 law. Last week, the North Carolina legislature rushed to produce a bill in a bid to get championship games back to the state. The bill, however, simply was not a repeal of the law. Meanwhile, state and local facilities—including public schools and universities—are prohibited from taking any steps to permit transgender people to access their facilities to protect them from discrimination. Neither the new law, nor the NCAA’s call for measures from the state to assure against discrimination will protect transgender people from targeting or harassment.

The NCAA’s statement on its decision claims the alleged repeal means that North Carolina “meets the minimal NCAA requirements” for nondiscrimination, even while saying that the board “remains concerned that some may perceive North Carolina’s moratorium against affording opportunities for communities to extend basic civil rights as a signal that discriminatory behavior is permitted and acceptable, which is inconsistent with the NCAA Bylaws.”

Yet, under HB 142, municipalities are banned from passing anti-discrimination measures until 2020; precluding not only for protections for transgender employees, but also fair wage laws and ordinances protecting workers from exploitative labor conditions, and laws ensuring that people with disabilities have equal access to public spaces.  

“The NCAA has clearly made a hasty decision without looking at all of the implications of HB 142—or more accurately, HB 2.0,” said NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling. “North Carolina most certainly is not a ‘safe, healthy, discrimination-free atmosphere for all those watching and participating in [NCAA] events,’ as the NCAA wants it to be. Under HB 2.0, it is impossible to hold an event in North Carolina while ensuring that transgender athletes, fans, and coaches are protected from discrimination. As long as this law is in place, the University of North Carolina has its hands tied: under HB 142, it is simply illegal for public universities like UNC to protect transgender people from discrimination. And even if championship events are held at private colleges with anti-discrimination measures in place, transgender people will still be subject to discriminatory laws as soon as they step off campus. The NCAA said it would require sites in North Carolina to submit additional documentation showing how the venue would ensure that students and fans are protecting from discrimination—a condition that no venue in North Carolina can meet under HB 142—and we will be watching to ensure that the NCAA enforces this condition responsibly.”

“Championship games aside, students at the University of North Carolina’s 17 campuses are all subject to HB 2.0. Transgender student-athletes will live under the shadow of this discriminatory law even in their off-seasons. They look to organizations like the NCAA to take a stand against discrimination and mistreatment year-round—not buckle under political pressure and abandon them.”

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