When the Basketball Association turns against your state for its bigoted policies, just maybe your state is on the losing side of the argument.
Armour: NCAA's next moves should be out of Indiana
by Nancy Armour, USA TODAY -- March 26, 2015
[...]
"The NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association] national office and our members are deeply committed to providing an inclusive environment for all our events," NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement shortly after Pence signed the law Thursday.
"We are especially concerned about how this legislation could affect our student-athletes and employees."
[...]
Then there's the message this law sends to young people. According to The Trevor Project, gay, lesbian and bisexual teens are four times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youths. A law like Indiana's tells these vulnerable youth -- some of whom are NCAA athletes -- that they don't matter, that their lives have less worth.
"We will work diligently to assure student-athletes competing in, and visitors attending, next week's Men's Final Four in Indianapolis are not impacted negatively by this bill," Emmert said in his statement. "Moving forward, we intend to closely examine the implications of this bill and how it might affect future events as well as our workforce."
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When the "manly" Football Association turns against your state for its bigoted policies, just maybe your state is "down by 3 touchdowns -- with only 2 minutes to go" ...
National Football League, NCAA May Turn Back On Indiana For ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill
inquisitr.com -- March 28, 2015
The National Football League isn’t strongly associated with gay rights and challenges to traditional gender norms. However, in an age where such strides in LGBT rights are becoming less and less controversial, even the pinnacle of American masculinity is tackling the issue with a decidedly open mind.
In the face of Indiana governor Mike Pence’s decision to sign a “religious freedom” bill into law, the NFL is discussing the possibility of pulling out of several events planned within the state, reported Indy Star. Although they have not come to a conclusion as to how they will address the issue, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello has confirmed that the topic is on their radar.
“We do not have a comment at this time. We are in the process of studying the law and its implications.”
One such NFL event that could be quite an affront to Indiana’s economy if pulled is the Scouting Combine, which has been hosted in Indianapolis since 1987. Visit Indy estimates that the event has a “total economic impact” of $8.27 million. The organization has been trying to move their year-to-year contract to host the event to a more binding one that would last several years, reported Indy Star.
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When "NBA superstars and
commentators" speak out against the Discriminatory policies of your state, relative to your headliner event, its probably time to scrap the misguided law.
Charles Barkley: Move Final Four Out of Indiana
by Lucas Grindley, advocate.com -- March 29 2015
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“Discrimination in any form is unacceptable to me,” said Barkley in a statement to USA Today. “As long as anti-gay legislation exists in any state, I strongly believe big events such as the Final Four and Super Bowl should not be held in those states’ cities.”
When Arizona governor Jan Brewer was considering whether to sign one of these license to discriminate bills last year, the NFL suggested it might move the Super Bowl out of the state.
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To the other "
two dozen states" in the process of passing cookie-cutter laws similar to Indiana's -- you might want to take a cue from Arizona governor Jan Brewer, who nearly lost all the Superbowl revenue for her state, by blindly following (
almost) such a Discriminatory play-book last year.
When Sports franchises stand up for the civil rights of all citizens, no matter their orientation -- then it is time for these back-water Bigoted interests to just sit down, and get with the American equality program.
Your own future economic opportunities could be riding on it. Just ask Governor Mike Pence of Indiana, about how "losing" like that really feels.