Candid Coaches: Should NCAA ban tourney in North Carolina due to bathroom law?

CBS Sports college basketball writers Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander spent July on the road talking to college coaches at multiple major NCAA-sanctioned recruiting events. In the weeks since, they've followed up with more than 110 coaches at all levels of Division I for our annual Candid Coaches series. As always, the series features a fun array of questions about college basketball, but also touches on broader issues in society. Throughout August we'll be posting the results of the poll questions posed to coaches.

The first question in our annual series is a timely one. On July 21, NBA commissioner Adam Silver made a big political and social statement by revoking Charlotte's hosting duties for the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. The reason? North Carolina's HB2 Law, which is controversial because, for many, it is seen as discriminatory toward transgender people.

Silver's decision came a few months after NCAA president Mark Emmert said at this year's Final Four that the state of North Carolina could be in jeopardy of losing NCAA Tournament hosting rights if state legislature did not make changes to the law. (The NCAA has made similar decrees in Indiana, where the NCAA is headquartered.) The HB2 bill has also prompted the PGA Tour to remove an event from North Carolina, and major musical acts such as Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen have cancelled sold-out concerts in the Charlotte area in protest of the law.

In late July, the NCAA followed Silver's lead and Emmert's previous statements by posting a public memo that detailed an Aug. 12 deadline (that's this Friday) for all future NCAA Tournament sites. The deadline is tied to a questionnaire that representatives from all cities bidding for tournament hosting duties must fill out.

"These potential future bidding cities must complete a questionnaire from the NCAA by Aug. 12 detailing any local anti-discrimination laws, provisions for refusal of services and other facility-specific information," the NCAA memo states. "Currently awarded host sites will have a separate deadline, which will be determined later, to submit this same information."

This could mean North Carolina -- a state that practically annually hosts a first- or second-weekend region for the NCAAs -- could lose that role going forward if HB2 stays in place. Should it? With that in mind, we asked more than 100 coaches about it, and here are the results.

Should the NCAA refuse to host any more NCAA tournament games in North Carolina until the HB2 law is amended or eradicated?

Yes	56 percent
No	44 percent

QUOTES THAT STOOD OUT

Coaches that voted 'yes' said ...

"Yes. Civil rights should trump all other concerns."

"Yes, no question. Discrimination of any kind cannot be tolerated. What if this was a law that discriminated against African-Americans? Same difference to me."

"Absolutely, that law is extremely discriminatory. When you look at both national and North Carolina polls on the issue (35 percent of North Carolinians support the bill) the vast majority of people do not support the bill. The only way for the populous to influence the decision-makers is by actions that bring light to the issue. What the NBA did was significant and created a conversation. The NCAA should be doing the same thing. The ACC should do the same thing with their tournament that is in Greensboro this year. I would love to see the coaches of UNC, Duke and NC State come out and say it."

"This is where I think it's about money. I think they should, but I don't see the NCAA doing it because Carolina or Duke is going to be in that region and they're going to sell it out. The NBA brand? They don't need [the All-Star Game in Charlotte]. The NCAA, in my opinion, they're going to throw out racism or sexism or throw out any belief. Hey, if you're transgender, you should be allowed to take the bathroom that suits who you are. I that that's a perception thing. It's what other people feel uncomfortable with. People are uncomfortable? It's their problem."

"The NCAA is supposed to be about developing future leaders. What a way to set the tone on leadership and standing up for what is right."

"Yes the NCAA should leave North Carolina until the bill is banned. However, I think it is absurd that Albany cancelled their game at a private institution like Duke because of the bill. Duke is a private, liberal institution which is supportive of equal opportunities for all. Just seems silly and politically motivated."

"If it keeps me from having to play a first-round game in the tournament against Duke or North Carolina in North Carolina, I'm absolutely for it. (Laughs) Please don't put my name on that. But I know I'm not the only coach who feels that way."

"We need to use our game for a better and higher platform. The NCAA has to pull out but won't because it would upset Mike (Krzyzewski) and Roy (Williams)."

Coaches that voted 'no' said ...

"No. Let's keep politics out of the game."

"The greater good. Not playing games in certain areas takes away significant economic stimulus for that area and its people, people who have nothing to do with making the law. I don't think we should punish the many for the decisions of a few."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT. Is the NCAA going to take a stand against every law and bill in every state that is controversial? Who determines which laws are worth protesting? Plus, the people of that state don't deserve the financial hit."

"I don't think they should. Now that I have two daughters it has made me see and think differently regarding a number of topics I would have normally not paid any attention to. The question I would have to those who oppose the bill, who is going to police or judge whether a person is actually a transgender or sick mentally and using the law as a way to get closer to girls/females in a vulnerable state? I realize the possibility of one bad apple shouldn't spoil the bunch, but I certainly do not feel comfortable taking the chance with my children. It is a touchy subject for everyone and I don't have an answer other than providing an additional single occupancy bathroom for those uncomfortable to use a public multiple occupancy facility. That would protect the rights of transgender, and keep any potential incident from happening involving children. I am not saying I am right, but as a parent it is my job to try to do all I can to keep my children safe."

"The NCAA should host games in North Carolina regardless of this law. My biggest problem with this is not that I am against LGBT, but that I am for protection of kids. If my little girl is in a bathroom by herself, I would prefer not to have a male (dressed as a female) using that restroom with her. Easy solution: create more family bathrooms so we can have our kids use them without the threat of an opposite sex person entering the restroom. The unisex bathrooms are not good either. I don't think you want a male busting in to a bathroom where a girl is using it."

"This bathroom crap -- pun intended -- is getting too much attention. We got people walking the streets with assault rifles and we are pissed about who can or cannot use a certain bathroom?"

MY TAKEAWAY

A reminder to readers of the site: We give coaches complete anonymity when answering these questions, because if we didn't most wouldn't answer these questions. This one in particular was interesting. For full transparency, about 15 percent of the coaches polled either declined answering the question altogether or had an "I don't care" opinion.

But that's not good enough.

We explicitly asked a yes or no question, so the coaches who refused to answer were not factored into the final tally. Also, North Carolina-based coaches -- head coaches, at that -- voted on both sides of this.

At this point, it's clear the law is doing more to hurt business and the economy in North Carolina than any good. The NCAA has been vocal in its stance against any state's laws that have tinges of discrimination toward any person. Given that reality, it's very possible North Carolina will lose out on hosting NCAA Tournament games going forward, lest the bill get changed.

North Carolina is right at the top, with Indiana and Kentucky, in being one of the most passionate, supportive, basketball-frenzied states the country has. We're in an era where the NCAA Tournament's opening-weekend sites aren't automatic sellouts -- except when they're placed in Greensboro, Raleigh, Charlotte, etc. So this would certainly be a huge statement by the NCAA. Some coaches are extremely skeptical this will actually go through, but to me, it seems an inevitability if the status quo doesn't change in the North Carolina state house.

It could also affect NCAA postseason play across all divisions in every sport.

Most basketball coaches don't get into political issues in a public manner, but many of them have strong, well-reasoned beliefs -- on both sides of many topics. This one brought out good conversations. A lot of sports fans angrily knee-jerk to any type of politics seeping into the sports world, but the reality is sports is and always has been social and political. This is a real conversation happening with the NCAA right now, so don't be surprised if, later this year, we get this headline: "NCAA moves all postseason games out of North Carolina."

It could happen, and if so, it would undeniably be both a huge statement and provide tangible impact on seeding and placement in the tournament in the years to come.