NCAA: North Carolina eligible, for now, to host events after 'bathroom bill' repeat

The NCAA weighs in on discrimination after HB2 repeal in North Carolina

The NCAA has joined the ACC in putting North Carolina back in the running to host future championships after the 2016 ACC Football Championship, NCAA Tournament first-round games and several other championship events were pulled from the state because of House Bill 2 -- a law which critics, including the NCAA, believe is anti-LGBT. 

North Carolina lawmakers voted Thursday to roll back HB2 and pass a compromise, House Bill 142, which brings its own controversy due to the inclusion of language that restricts new anti-discrimination ordinances from being created in cities and counties. 

The ACC Council of Presidents voted Friday to put North Carolina back in the running for conference championships, and the NCAA announced Tuesday that the state will be considered for championship events in the 2018-22 cycle.  

“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 statement read -- with a caveat. “If we find that our expectations of a discrimination-free environment are not met, we will not hesitate to take necessary action at any time.”

The NCAA acknowledged that while the repeal of HB2 and the passing of House Bill 142 brings the state up to standards for championship hosting, “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.”

House Bill 142 prohibits local governments from enacting or amending local nondiscrimination ordinances through 2020, which lawmakers said, via WRAL, “would give time for federal lawsuits over transgender rights to be resolved.” 

HB2, a law which was publicly criticized by North Carolina coach Roy Williams and Duke coach Mike Kzyzewski several times during the college basketball basketball season, included requirements for transgender people to use the bathroom that matches their birth certificate in schools and other government buildings and excludes gay and transgender people from discrimination protections by local governments. 

Greensboro was set to host first- and second-round games of the NCAA Tournament this postseason but lost the games to Greenville, South Carolina, when the NCAA pulled seven championships out of the state citing the association’s values “of inclusion and gender equity.” 

The NCAA championships previously awarded to North Carolina for 2017-18 will remain in the state.