As state legislators in North Carolina try to figure out a way out of the mess created by HB2, which legalized and mandated discrimination against LGBT people, ACC commissioner John Swofford has taken notice of their efforts to “fix” the law. That is making some LGBT advocates very nervous.
Campus Pride, a college-based LGBT organization based in Charlotte, N.C., is encouraging the ACC to return to the state only if there is a full repeal of the law. Currently the tea leaves point to a “compromise” bill that would “fix” part of HB2 but continue to allow discrimination against transgender people.
“There are indications that the North Carolina General Assembly will advance a measure that repeals part of the law, but continue to allow discrimination against transgender people,” Campus Pride posted on its Web site. “They will then claim the bill has been ‘fixed” and call upon the ACC, the NCAA and others to come back to the state.”
While Swofford has opened the door to returning events to North Carolina, his comments do speak specifically to a repeal.
"If legislation is passed that resets the law as it was prior to HB2,” Swofford said, “it will present the opportunity to reopen the discussion with the ACC Council of Presidents regarding neutral site conference championships being in the state of North Carolina.”
Still, it’s unknown if the ACC could be lured back by what North Carolina legislators present as a “sensible compromise.”
You can be the NBA won’t be falling for that one. The league withdrew the 2017 All-Star Game from the state.
The NCAA is in the midst of its process of determining future championship-level sites through the 2022 championship season. Those decisions will be announced in April. It is expected that without a full repeal of HB2, North Carolina will receive no events.
