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NCAA moving 7 championship events out of North Carolina

Andy KatzESPN Senior Writer
5:20 PM PT 22m

The NCAA will move seven championship events this academic year from the state of North Carolina, including the first and second round of the 2017 NCAA men's basketball tournament, because of the state's controversial HB2 law.

The NCAA's Board of Governors made the announcement late Monday night. The decision comes on the heels of the NBA moving the all-star game in February from Charlotte to New Orleans.

The board issued a statement saying, "current North Carolina state laws make it challenging to guarantee the host communities can help deliver on that commitment if NCAA events remained in the state.

A number of musical acts have also canceled shows in the state due to the law.

The NCAA said deciding factors in moving the events were that the North Carolina law "invalidated any local law that treats sexual orientation as a protected class or has a purpose to prevent discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals.

The NCAA cited that the HB2 law makes "it unlawful to use a restroom different from the gender on one's birth certificate, regardless of gender identity.''

The NCAA also pointed out that the law provides legal protection for government officials to refuse services to the LGBT community.

The seven events that will be moved:


• Division I women's soccer championship College Cup, slated for Cary, N.C., Dec. 2 and 4.

• Division III men's and women's soccer championship in Greensboro, Dec. 2 and 3.

• Division I men's basketball tournament first/second rounds in Greensboro, March 17 and 19, 2017.

• Division I women's golf championship regional in Greenville, May 8-10.

• Division III men's and women's tennis championship in Cary, May 22-27.

• Division I women's lacrosse championship in Cary, May 26 and 28.

• Division II baseball championship in Cary, May 27-June 3.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) responded to the NBA's move earlier this summer by saying in a statement, "The sports and entertainment elite, Attorney General Roy Cooper and the liberal media have for months misrepresented our laws and maligned the people of North Carolina simply because most people believe boys and girls should be able to use school bathrooms, locker rooms and showers without the opposite sex present.

"Twenty-one other states have joined North Carolina to challenge the federal overreach by the Obama administration mandating their bathroom policies in all businesses and schools instead of allowing accommodations for unique circumstances. Left-wing special interest groups have no moral authority to try and intimidate the large majority of American parents who agree in common-sense bathroom and shower privacy for our children. American families should be on notice that the selective corporate elite are imposing their political will on communities in which they do business, thus bypassing the democratic and legal process."

An email for a response from Gov. McCrory on the NCAA's decision wasn't returned Monday night.

Duke is expected to be a preseason No. 1 and a likely top seed, meaning the Blue Devils probably would have been placed in Greensboro.

Duke already had to switch a non-conference opponent after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) banned the New York state university at Albany from playing at a North Carolina school due to HB2. New York, Minnesota, Washington, Vermont and Connecticut have banned state-sponsored travel to North Carolina.

"Fairness is about more than the opportunity to participate in college sports, or even compete for championships," said NCAA president Mark Emmert in a statement. "We believe in providing a safe and respectful environment at our events and are committed to providing the best experience possible for college athletes, fans and everyone taking part in our championships."

New sites for the championships will be determined soon. Schools in the state of North Carolina can earn the right to host a postseason tournament event, but it would not be a championship event sponsored by the NCAA.

In 2015, the NCAA threatened to move out of the state of Indiana, where it's headquarters are located, if it didn't alter the state's Religious Freedom Law. Gov. Mike Pence, the current GOP vice presidential nominee, clarified that the law wouldn't discriminate against the LGBT community.


http://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/17533335/ncaa-pulls-7-championship-events-north-carolina