Did the NCAA & ACC Just Break the HB2 Camel's Back?

The Atlantic Coast Conference has followed the lead of the NCAA by deciding to pull all neutral-site championships from the state of North Carolina in opposition to the state's House Bill 2 that limits transgender people to using restrooms in government buildings as stated by their birth certificate. Emma Margolin of NBC News provides the details in her article Will NCAA, ACC Pullout of North Carolina Be Final Straw for HB2 Bathroom Law?.

This is crushing blow to the state of North Carolina, which will lose, according to the article, nearly $450 million in tourism and local convention business. The NCAA was not the first major sport entity to pull games from the state, as the NBA decided to pull the All-Star Game from Charlotte earlier this summer. Other major attractions have also been pulled from the state including a Bruce Springsteen show.

The Republican leadership in North Carolina has dug its feet in on the HB2 bill and plans no changes unless they are forced to by the courts.  Representatives of the GOP have called the decision by the NCAA and ACC "so absurd it's almost comical." However, both the University of North Carolina and Duke University, the state's major schools, have supported the NCAA and ACC in their decision.

Ultimately, like everything else, this decision seems it will come down to money. The state is losing a large amount of revenue, and if things continue this way, I cant see how the legislature does not eventually move to repeal HB2. If protesting against the social injustice does not create a change, the economic fallout certainly will.

Look out for more major events to be pulled from the state of North Carolina in the future.



Image from: http://www.ncaa.org/