Written by Eddie Timanus at USAToday.com
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Wednesday that it would move its neutral site championships out of North Carolina for the 2016-17 season in response to the state’s controversial House Bill 2.
The law prevents cities and counties from passing protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. And public schools must require bathrooms or locker rooms be designated for use only by people based on their biological sex.
The ACC follows the lead of the NCAA, which announced Monday that it would relocate its championships for 2016-17.
The NBA moved its the All-Star game in Charlotte for the same reasons in July and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called the law “embarrassing” in an interview with USA TODAY Sports.
“The ACC 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. Today’s decision is one of principle, and while this decision is the right one, we recognize there will be individuals and communities that are supportive of our values as well as our championship sites that will be negatively affected,” ACC Commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. “Hopefully, there will be opportunities beyond 2016-17 for North Carolina neutral sites to be awarded championships.”
The original dates and sites for the neutral site championships affected:
Women’s soccer: Nov. 4, 6; Cary
Football: Dec. 3; Charlotte
Men’s and women’s swimming and diving: Feb. 15-18; Greensboro
Women’s basketball: March 1-5; Greensboro
Men’s and women’s tennis: April 26-30; Cary
Women’s golf: April 21-23, Greensboro
Men’s golf: April 21-23; New London
Baseball: May 23-28; Durham
The conference said it would have further announcements on where these championships will be played.
“As members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the ACC Council of Presidents reaffirmed our collective commitment to uphold the values of equality, diversity, inclusion and non-discrimination,” said a joint statement from the ACC Council of Presidents. “Every one of our 15 universities is strongly committed to these values and therefore, we will continue to host ACC Championships at campus sites. We believe North Carolina House Bill 2 is inconsistent with these values, and as a result, we will relocate all neutral site championships for the 2016-17 academic year. All locations will be announced in the future from the conference office.”
Hudson Taylor, the executive director of LGBT advocacy group Athlete Ally, praised the decision.
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