The profile in courage the NCAA had presented in its stand against the rank discrimination of North Carolina’s HB2 “bathroom bill” ended Tuesday when the national collegiate organization reinstated the state's 2017-18 championship games and opened the door to future events.
The NCAA Board of Governors’ lengthy statement lamenting that the new law only "meets the minimal NCAA requirements" for providing an environment free of discrimination was window dressing for giving the state a pass. Ultimately, the board concluded that North Carolina's overt targeting of LGBTQ citizens was acceptable because many other cites also haven't committed to more fully protecting gay and transgender people. On the civil rights relativity scale, North Carolina wasn't that bad, they wrote:
We recognize the quality championships hosted by the people of North Carolina in years before HB2. And this new law restores the state to that legal landscape: a landscape similar to other jurisdictions presently hosting NCAA championships.
And so the NCAA rewarded the sham repeal North Carolina Republicans pushed through, only this time their cover up was aided by Democratic lawmakers who found it acceptable to sell civil rights protections down the river. In essence, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s complicity provided the NCAA cover to let North Carolina off the hook.
In the end, a majority on the NCAA Board of Governors reluctantly voted to allow consideration of championship bids in North Carolina by our committees that are presently meeting.
Now we will see if the NCAA’s retreat provides cover for others to ignore the taint of discrimination that has driven entertainers and businesses alike from the state.