Last week the NCAA took steps to silence critics regarding their position on the onslaught of anti-LGBT legislation in key sports states, particularly North Carolina. The NCAA's Board of Governors approved a new measure in the bidding process that would require all NCAA championship sites to show how they will be inclusive for all NCAA players, staff and fans. It is unclear whether this new measure will disqualify states like North Carolina from hosting NCAA championships. But North Carolina's anti-LGBT law was clearly an impetus for the NCAA's official bidding process amendment.
Some believed this would be the final position from the NCAA on this issue (and many advocates were not happy with that). But with the Department of Justice's announcement that HB2 violates the Federal Civil Rights Act, the NCAA's hand might be forced again.
The NCAA has a policy that all members schools have to comply with federal laws pertaining to gender equity. This means that schools like UNC, Wake Forest, NC State, Duke, and any other school that is associated with the NCAA, all have to adhere to the federal government's interpretation and enforcement of federal laws in order to maintain NCAA membership status. After the DOJ's announcement, any school that adheres to HB2 would be in violation of federal law...and thus the NCAA's membership policy.
Right now, this implicates UNC athletics -- as UNC's president has publicly stated the school will follow HB2 and discriminate against transgender students.
UNC Chapel Hill is a major NCAA program, especially for basketball. Their basketball team has won numerous national championships. They garner world recognition and certainly increase NCAA and ACC viewership. But rules are rules, right?
Of course, NC legislators can help avert this dilemma by simply doing the right thing and repealing North Carolina's discriminatory law. They've been given until Monday by the DOJ to comply. Otherwise, this could force the NCAA to wade in even further into North Carolina's HB2 civil rights nightmare, possibly being forced to reconsider UNC's membership status.
And given the NCAA's written membership rules, they might be left with only one move to make.