The board of the National Collegiate
Athletic Association (NCAA) this week approved the requirement that
cities bidding on NCAA events must adopt LGBT-inclusive
non-discrimination laws.
The NCAA announced the new policy in a
blog post on its website, saying that the decision “reaffirms
the NCAA commitment to operate championships and events that promote
an inclusive atmosphere in which student athletes participate,
coaches and administrators lead and fans engage.”
“The higher education community is a
diverse mix of people from different racial, ethnic, religious and
sexual orientation backgrounds,” said Kirk Schulz, president of
Kansas State University and chair of the NCAA Board of Governors.
“So it is important that we assure that community – including our
student-athletes and fans – will always enjoy the experience of
competing and watching at NCAA championships without concerns of
discrimination.”
Chad Griffin, president of the Human
Rights Campaign (HRC), applauded the move.
“The NCAA has sent a very clear
message that unfair and unjust discrimination against LGBT people
will not be tolerated by the association, and we hope lawmakers are
listening,” said
Griffin. “In order for cities to even qualify to host these
major sporting events, they must now have commonsense, LGBT-inclusive
non-discrimination protections. We commend the NCAA Board of
Governors for taking this critically important stand in favor of
fairness and equality.”
According to the News
& Observer, North Carolina has hosted 17 NCAA events in
the past two decades. A law approved earlier this month prohibits
cities from enacting anti-discrimination laws that include sexual
orientation or gender identity.