GROUP ASKS NCAA TO MOVE EVENT FROM MISSISSIPPI
A civil rights group is asking the NCAA to move a regional softball tournament out of Mississippi because the state flag contains the Confederate battle emblem. Mississippi is the last state with a flag that includes the Confederate emblem — a red field topped by a blue tilted X dotted with white stars. Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson calls it a “racial hate symbol.” The University of Mississippi in Oxford is hosting an NCAA regional tournament Friday through Sunday, based on the team’s performance. Since 2001, the NCAA has not scheduled a “pre-selected championship,” such as a football bowl game, in a state where the rebel flag flies prominently. However, the NCAA allows schools in those states to host events in which the team earns a home-field advantage. That is why the Mississippi State women’s basketball team hosted NCAA tournament games in Starkville in March. The NCAA praised South Carolina in 2015 for removing a Confederate battle flag that had flown outside the statehouse for years. The collegiate sports group called the flag a “symbol of racism.”