Collegiate Sports

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N.C.A.A. Leader Mark Emmert Says Discrimination Policy Is Clear
By RAY GLIERMARCH 17, 2017


GREENVILLE, S.C. — The N.C.A.A. president, Mark Emmert, said Friday that the organization was standing behind the firm position it has staked out on anti-discrimination protections for athletes and fans, a decision that led it to bar North Carolina from hosting N.C.A.A. championship events like this week’s men’s basketball tournament.

Emmert was in Greenville on Friday, in fact, only because the N.C.A.A. had moved a set of first- and second-round games out of Greensboro, N.C., last year in response to a contentious state law that curbed anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

“We have stated very clearly our views and values,” Emmert said. “I fully expect the board and I will act accordingly. To presuppose what any state is going to do is presumptuous, and we’ll wait and see what happens there or anywhere else.”

Emmert would not comment specifically on the plans by, and potential consequences for, states that pass similar bills. Texas and Arkansas, for example, have moved recently to enact laws similar to the North Carolina bill, known as H.B. 2, and could face the loss of future events if they become law.

On Tuesday, the Texas Senate gave tentative approval to a so-called bathroom bill similar to the North Carolina legislation. That could imperil the state’s hosting of games in next season’s men’s basketball tournament, including the 2018 Final Four, which is set for San Antonio.

North Carolina faces the loss of first- and second-round games it is scheduled to host next year in Charlotte, and it also could be barred from bidding for events from 2019 to 2022 if H.B. 2 is not repealed (a repeal seems unlikely). The N.C.A.A. said the winners of the next round of bids would be announced April 18.

Without legislative action, then, North Carolina — a regular stop for the N.C.A.A. tournament — could be without games in the event for a minimum of six years.

“That’s up to the Legislature of North Carolina,” Emmert said. “They make their decision and other entities can respond to it. Whatever decision they want to make is between them and the citizens of North Carolina. I personally respect that enormously.

“The N.C.A.A. represents 1,100 universities and colleges; we reflect their views and their values. They happen to be different constituencies.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/sports/ncaabasketball/ncaa-discrimination-north-carolina-mark-emmert.html?