Last week, the NCAA issued an ultimatum to North Carolina: repeal HB2, a law which mandates that people should use the public bathroom in accordance with the sex reflected on his or her birth certificate, or championship games will be banned from being hosted in the state until 2022.
Giving into the threats backed by a lot of coin, just hours before the NCAA’s imposed deadline, Republican lawmakers and Democratic Governor Roy Cooper reached an agreement to repeal HB2 and replace it with the more “transgender friendly” HB142. In response, the NCAA announced that it would permit the 2017-18 games already alloted to the state to take place.
Gov. Cooper called HB2 “a dark cloud hanging over our great state.”
“It has stained our reputation, it has discriminated against our people and it has caused great economic harm in many of our communities,” he added.
Facing criticism from unsatisfied LGBT advocates, the governor said HB142 was “not a perfect deal and it’s not my preferred solution. It stops short of many things we need to do as a state.”
“The compromise bill weaves in several provisions, including repealing HB2, leaving state legislators in charge of policy over multi-stall bathrooms, and puts a temporary halt on local governments passing nondiscrimination ordinances until 2020 — which lawmakers say would allot time for ongoing court cases on transgender issues to play out,” reports NCB News.
Subsequently, the NCAA announced on Tuesday morning that they would bring back already assigned games to the state for 2017-18:
“[A] majority on the NCAA Board of Governors reluctantly voted to allow considerations of championships bids in North Carolina by our committees that are presently meeting. The NCAA championships previously awarded to North Carolina for 2017-18 will remain in the state. The board, however, directs that any site awarded a championship event in North Carolina or elsewhere be required to submit additional documentation demonstrating how student-athletes and fans will be protected from discrimination.”
HB2 was smeared as a “discriminatory” bill, although it only codified the age-old sex-segregated public bathrooms and locker-rooms policy into law; private companies and buildings were still free to set their own policies. Additionally, HB2 allowed trans folks to use the facility designated for the sex with which they identify if they had the appropriate change made to their birth certificate.