NCAA Pulls Basketball, Other Championship Games From North Carolina After Bathroom Law

The NCAA will pull several of its championship games for the 2016-17 school year, including some March Madness basketball games, out of North Carolina over the state's so-called "bathroom law." The NCAA is the latest sports organization to remove a high-profile game out of the state over the law, which mandates people use the bathroom consistent with their birth sex, not gender identity.

An NCAA release said "championships and events must promote an inclusive atmosphere for all college athletes, coaches, administrators and fans. Current North Carolina state laws make it challenging to guarantee that host communities can help deliver on that commitment if NCAA events remained in the state."

The NCAA said the law could allow the state government to refuse services to LGBT people and cited five states that have banned state-sponsored travel to North Carolina.

According to the release, the championships being moved are:

• 2017 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, first/second rounds (Greensboro), March 17 and 19
• 2016 Division I Women’s Soccer Championship, College Cup (Cary), Dec. 2 and 4
• 2017 Division I Women’s Golf Championships, regional (Greenville), May 8-10
• 2017 Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship (Cary), May 26 and 28
• 2017 Division II Baseball Championship (Cary), May 27-June 3
• 2016 Division III Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championships (Greensboro), Dec. 2 and 3
• 2017 Division III Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships (Cary), May 22-2

The North Carolina Republican Party pulled no punches in a statement, from spokesperson Kami Mueller, released after the NCAA announced its decision:

This is so absurd it’s almost comical. I genuinely look forward to the NCAA merging all men’s and women’s teams together as singular, unified, unisex teams.

Under the NCAA’s logic, colleges should make cheerleaders and football players share bathrooms, showers and hotel rooms. This decision is an assault to female athletes across the nation. If you are unwilling to have women’s bathrooms and locker rooms, how do you have a women’s team?

I wish the NCAA was this concerned about the women who were raped at Baylor. Perhaps the NCAA should stop with their political peacocking — and instead focus their energies on making sure our nation’s collegiate athletes are safe, both on and off the field.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory released the following statement:

The issue of redefining gender and basic norms of privacy will be resolved in the near future in the United States court system for not only North Carolina, but the entire nation. I strongly encourage all public and private institutions to both respect and allow our nation’s judicial system to proceed without economic threats or political retaliation toward the 22 states that are currently challenging government overreach. Sadly, the NCAA, a multi-billion dollar, tax-exempt monopoly, failed to show this respect at the expense of our student athletes and hard-working men and women.

In July, the NBA announced it would move the NBA All-Star game from North Carolina because of the law. The University at Albany had to cancel its basketball game at Duke University because of New York state's ban on travel to North Carolina.

The other states than have banned travel to North Carolina are Minnesota, Washington, Vermont and Connecticut.

Image via Jeff Turner, Flickr, used under Creative Commons