NCAA MAY FOLLOW NBA’S LEAD
North Carolina law could pose trouble for state
The NCAA announced Friday that it had sent a questionnaire concerning discrimination issues to local organizing groups in cities that had been named to host any NCAA event in any of its three competitive divisions or were interested in staging them.
The move, a follow-up to action taken by the association’s overall governing board in April, happened a day after the NBA announced it would move its 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte because of the controversial antiLGBT law North Carolina enacted in March.
In April, the NCAA board of governors approved a new requirement for sites hosting or bidding on championships, meetings and conferences: They must “demonstrate how they will provide an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination, plus safeguards the dignity of everyone involved in the event.” The board also tasked the association’s central office staff with developing a way to implement the requirement.
The NCAA has awarded all championship events with predetermined sites through the 201718 school year. Sites interested in bidding on events must respond to the questionnaire by Aug. 12, the NCAA said. Sites already awarded events will have to respond by a date to be determined.
The questionnaire’s implementation could create further problems for North Carolina. Among the questions:
u“Has your city, county/parish and/or state passed anti-discrimination laws that are applicable to all persons?”
u“Does your city, county/ parish and/or state regulate choice of bathrooms or locker rooms that may affect student- athletes, coaches, administrators or game officials during the event?”
u“Does your city, countyparish and/or state regulate choice of bathrooms that may affect fans attending the event?”
u“Does your city, county/ parish and/or state have provisions that allow for refusal of accommodations or service to any person?”
The questionnaire provides sites with an open-ended opportunity to answer this: In light of the NCAA’s requirements, “How would you provide an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination, plus safeguards the dignity of everyone involved with the event? As part of your answer, please provide specific references to prior hosted events or other tangible examples.”
The North Carolina law prevents cities and counties from passing protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Public schools must require bathrooms or locker rooms be designated for use only by people based on biological sex.
Cities and towns around the state are scheduled to host at least 20 championship events in the next two-plus years, including the Division I men’s basketball tournament and the Division I women’s College Cup soccer finals. First- and second-round games of the basketball tournament are set for Greensboro in 2017 and Charlotte in 2018. The soccer event is to be held in Cary, which has hosted numerous men’s and women’s finals in that sport.
Division I women’s basketball first- and second-round tournament sites are awarded annually, usually to the top 16 seeded teams. Similar arrangements are made for the sites of Division I baseball tournament regionals and super regionals. Teams from schools in the state often do well enough to host those events.
Numerous North Carolina cities have been selected to host championship events in other Division I sports and/or Division II and Division III championships. For example, the Division II baseball championship is set for Cary through 2018.