The Atlantic Coast Conference is moving all its neutral site championship events from North Carolina in reaction to the anti-LGBT law passed by the legislature. The biggest is the ACC college football championship game that set for Dec. 3 in Charlotte.
The ACC released this statement today:
Statement from the ACC Council of Presidents:
"As members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the ACC Council of Presidents reaffirmed our collective commitment to uphold the values of equality, diversity, inclusion and non-discrimination. Every one of our 15 universities is strongly committed to these values and therefore, we will continue to host ACC Championships at campus sites. We believe North Carolina House Bill 2 is inconsistent with these values, and as a result, we will relocate all neutral site championships for the 2016-17 academic year. All locations will be announced in the future from the conference office."
Statement from Clemson University President James P. Clements, chair of the ACC Council of Presidents:
"The ACC presidents engaged in a constructive, wide-ranging and vigorous discussion of this complex issue over the past two days. The decision to move the neutral site championships out of North Carolina while HB 2 remains the law was not an easy one but it is consistent with the shared values of inclusion and non-discrimination at all of our institutions."
Statement from ACC Commissioner John Swofford:
"The ACC Council of Presidents made it clear that the core values of this league are of the utmost importance, and the opposition to any form of discrimination is paramount. Today’s decision is one of principle, and while this decision is the right one, we recognize there will be individuals and communities that are supportive of our values as well as our championship sites that will be negatively affected. Hopefully, there will be opportunities beyond 2016-17 for North Carolina neutral sites to be awarded championships."
Neutral site championships (in date order):
Women’s Soccer
Football
Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving
Women’s Basketball
Men’s and Women’s Tennis
Women’s Golf
Men’s Golf
Baseball
On Monday, the NCAA moved seven event from the state, including 2017 men's basketball regionals. The NBA has also moved its All-Star Game from Charlotte,
These actions come months after the North Carolina Republican legislature and governor passed HB2, which allows discrimination against LGBT people.