North Carolina has made one thing clear with their implementation of House Bill 2: the LGBT community is not welcome in the Tar Heel State.
HB2 prevents people from using the restroom they identify with and allows for workplace discrimination against the LGBT community. Several cities in North Carolina had started to make changes in favor of LGBT rights with the state’s acceptance of gay marriage, but the bill prevents them from setting a different standard to give those affected more rights.
It’s no surprise that the state’s own teams have started to turn against North Carolina in response to the bill, with the Hornets leading the way. Hornets owner Michael Jordan refused to accept the discrimination and made it clear that the organization would not stand for the alienation of its fans.
Along with the Hornets speaking against their own state, the NBA had a powerful response to the bill by pulling the 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte. The estimated $100 million event is one that not only brings revenue to North Carolina but is an honor that has not taken place in the state since 1991.
While the NBA has been a massive opponent of the discriminatory bill, the North Carolina Panthers have yet to take a side on the matter. Although they’ve refused to speak on the taboo of gender neutral bathrooms, haven’t had a problem talking about Colin Kaepernick’s protest that has swept the nation. Both head coach Ron Rivera and starting quarterback Cam Newton have defended Kaepernick’s actions, despite the controversy surrounding it.
While the Panthers choose to sit with Kaepernick and ultimately on the bill issue, the North Carolina Hurricanes have been the first representatives of the NHL to speak against the discrimination.
The Hurricanes recognized the bill as a direct form of discrimination and have released their statement against discrimination targeting the team’s fans. The Hurricanes have yet to provide an action against the HB2 bill but have shown support for the NBA’s decision to relocate the All-Star game.
The NCAA has chosen to pull seven of its championships out of North Carolina, including the first and second rounds of the 2017 men’s basketball championship. The organization is also relocating the Division I and Division III women’s soccer championships, as well as the Division I women’s golf and lacrosse championships, from the state.
Following in the NCAA’s footsteps, the Atlantic Coast Conference has chosen to relocate its football title game and women’s basketball tournament. Both organizations have stated that the choice to move the tournaments to more neutral territory is because of the failure of North Carolina to repeal the bill.
It is clear that North Carolina has no intention of removing the bill, but with its own sports teams and powerful organizations taking a stance, the tar heel state might begin to make strides toward equality and leave behind their discriminatory legislation.
Kenta McAfee can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_sports on Twitter.
