NCAA Says It Reluctantly Opens Up To North Carolina Bids After HB2 Repeal

CHARLOTTE, NC -- One week after issuing an ultimatum to North Carolina lawmakers, the NCAA says it has “reluctantly” decided that the state’s undoing of its HB2 “bathroom bill” law is sufficient to undo its championship game boycott.

The move comes as the ACC also said it would also consider the state for championship games, but also as U.S. mayors denounced the legislative maneuvering, saying they will continue to boycott the state -- proving the issue is far from resolved for North Carolina.

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“We are actively determining site selections, and this new law has minimally achieved a situation where we believe NCAA championships may be conducted in a nondiscriminatory environment,” the organization said in a statement April 4. The NCAA Board of Governors “reluctantly voted to allow consideration of championship bids in North Carolina,” it added.

Following months of failed attempts at finding a compromise with a repeal, North Carolina lawmakers were spurred into action March 30 after NCAA said the state had 48 hours to repeal the contentious year-old law that denied anti-discrimination protections based upon sexual orientation or gender identity or be excluded from championship games through 2022.

While NCAA said the repeal -- facilitated through passage of House Bill 142 last week -- did address some of the concerns that led the organization to pull championship games this year, it stopped short of praising the General Assembly’s effort.

“As with most compromises, this new law is far from perfect,” NCAA said.

The state’s new law that, however, now puts the state in line with other jurisdictions that presently host NCAA championships, the organization conceded.

NCAA said it would now require all sites awarded championships to submit additional documentation outlining how student athletes and fans would be protected from discrimination.

“While the new law meets the minimal NCAA requirements, 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,” the statement added.

The compromise bill passed last week has done little to satisfy mayors of Los Angeles, Santa Fe and Salt Lake City, who criticized the restriction of anti-discrimination ordinances on a local level. They will maintain their cities’ travel bans to North Carolina, The Charlotte Observer reported.

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