The Men’s NCAA basketball tournament started this week, with half the first round games played today. Women begin playing tomorrow. You can mix your politics and sports at Five Thirty Eight, but for many, the next three weeks are going to be a welcome relief from politics. That is not the case for teams from North Carolina.
Duke University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) are contenders this year and rivals (that’s true every year). Both teams will play their first round games at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. In previous years the Greensboro, NC arena has been the venue for these games. After North Carolina passed HB2, the NCAA pulled all tournament events from the state.
Today, Coach Mike Krzyzewski and Coach Roy Williams were asked for their views at a press conference. Neither had kind words for HB2 or the NC legislature:
"I'm very sad, very disappointed about the whole thing, which apparently is something that's really, really hard to change,” Williams said Thursday. "But people in Greenville have been great.”
"They have the right to host it whether our state is smart enough to have it,” Krzyzewski said. "It shouldn't be a contest of one against another.
"It would be nice if our state got as smart and also would host not just basketball tournaments but concerts and other NCAA events. But maybe we'll get there in the next century, I don't know. We'll see.
"Look, it's a stupid thing. That's my political statement. If I was president or governor I'd get rid of it. And I'd back up my promises. As unusual as that might be. Anyway, I don't want to get too political.”
They’re playing in South Carolina, which faced a similar NCAA ban while the Confederate flag was flying over the capital grounds (it came down in 2015). They’re both reiterating their opposition to HB2. Back in February Williams called the law and lawmakers “stupid”. The CBS half-time show covered their statements with Charles Barkley (who’s been a critic of HB2) applauding both coaches for speaking up.