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2017 NCAA Tournament games leaving North Carolina

North Carolina is facing more backlash for House Bill 2.

By Jeremy Chisenhall
NCAA Basketball: Final Four Championship Game-Villanova vs North Carolina Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The NCAA has announced that they are planning to move 2017 men’s basketball tournament games out of North Carolina.

This comes after North Carolina passed a controversial law that some view as discriminatory towards the LGBT community.

The law is known as House Bill 2, and it prevents people who have not had surgery to change their gender from having the legal right to use the bathroom labeled for the gender that they identify with. The law also keeps people from being protected from discrimination based on their sexual orientation.

The NCAA had this to say in a press release.

[NCAA E]vents 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 board said.

“Fairness is about more than the opportunity to participate in college sports, or even compete for championships,” said Mark Emmert, NCAA president. “We believe in providing a safe and respectful environment at our events and are committed to providing the best experience possible for college athletes, fans and everyone taking part in our championships."

The NCAA also released this tweet on the issue.

This isn’t the first time North Carolina has been penalized with the vacancy of a sporting event due to this law, as they have also lost the 2017 NBA All-Star game as a consequence.

These seven championship events will be relocated from North Carolina for 2016-17:

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

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