Until last week the biggest sports story making news was about the San Francisco 49ers’ multi-millionaire quarterback Colin Kaepernick refusing to stand for the national anthem because he blames America and all police for isolated incidents of deadly racism. He also wears socks emblazoned with cartoon images of pigs dressed as cops. No doubt, young Mr. Kaepernick has the right to protest, and I have the right to wish someone would stick those pig socks in his mouth. In any event, Colin’s misdirected angst has been moved off of the front page and supplanted with another sports story which also has wide ranging social implications.
Last week the NCAA and ACC issued back-to-back press releases (can you say collusion?), in which they announced that they were moving championship events out of North Carolina because of HB2, a bill they say violates the civil rights of transgender persons who cannot use the bathroom of their choice. HB2 as you recall was enacted at the end of March in response to an illegal ordinance passed by the Charlotte city council which would have required all private businesses to accommodate Transgenders who desire to use bathrooms that correspond to the gender to which they identify. That was five months ago. Now suddenly, 60 days before a gubernatorial election the NCAA and ACC have decided that they should take punitive action. NCAA President Mark Emmert told the Associated Press, “The decision of course, occurred completely independent of what kind of year it was around politics.” Hey Mark, don’t pee down my back and tell me it’s raining! I’m not that stupid, and neither are the majority of North Carolinians who know when someone is playing politics. Last week’s announcements were clearly political. They were also misguided and unnecessary. Here’s why.
First and foremost, no matter how odious it is, HB2 does nothing to restrict the use of bathroom facilities at any of the venues where championship events would have been held.
Second, HB2 is not enforceable on any level. That was made clear by a federal judge who recently ruled in favor of the UNC system.
Third, HB2 has nothing to do with civil or gender identity rights under Title IX, a fact ignored by President Lame Duck, who issued a letter to every public school superintendent in the nation, and threatened to withhold federal funds if they don’t make accommodations for Transgender students. Fortunately, a federal judge in Texas has ruled that Title IX is clear about biological gender rights, and has halted Obama’s social engineering, at least temporarily. Nevertheless, The NCAA and ACC have mistakenly tied Title IX to HB2, and feel they have the moral authority to
punish fans and athletes for living in a State where a handful of gerrymandered politicians have passed a confusing, unenforceable law.
That brings me back to politics. If the NCAA and ACC were offended by what they thought was a restrictive bill, they should have let the law take its course before banning major sporting events from our state. Governor McCrory has said he wants the Supreme Court to weigh in on HB2, and it probably will. Meanwhile the Governor, who did not write or create HB2, has made repeated attempts to work out a compromise with Charlotte’s crusading Mayor Jennifer Roberts, but to no avail. Thus far, Mayor Roberts has been unwilling to scuttle her illegal ordinance , but if she does, then there is reason to believe that HB2 would be repealed in short order. In any event, Ms. Roberts’ chess move to embarrass the Governor by passing an ordinance that she knew was unconstitutional, has been a gift from heaven for Roy Cooper, whose poll numbers continue to rise with every new boycott. And now the NCAA and ACC are trying to put the final nail in McCrory’s political coffin by taking punitive action just weeks before sports fans go to the polls. If you doubt Mr. Emmert’s motives, then just ask yourself why the NCAA didn’t also ban events from all of the other states which have similar laws to ours.
It is an understatement to say that recent sanctions by the NCAA and ACC have a lot of people upset. After all, we’ll forfeit over $150 million dollars from the loss of those championship events alone. Even some of the Republican and Democrat legislators who voted for HB2 are now running for cover, and everyone seems to be blaming McCrory for the whole mess. It’s the first time I can recall that a sitting Governor has been thrown under the bus by both parties over the same issue, and the NCAA and ACC have provided the fuel for that bus to keep moving.
Of course, HB2 still has its defenders, and there are also those of us who don’t appreciate being bullied and penalized by a sports association for something we didn’t do. The NCAA, after all, has a history of imposing arbitrary sanctions, and often penalizes incoming players for a rule that was violated by outgoing players. That’s why it pleases me that several members of Congress are looking into the possibility that the NCAA has violated its tax exempt status by interfering with and trying to influence our upcoming election. Theirs is a legitimate concern, and a Congressional investigation could have an impact on curbing unfair sports sanctions in the future.
In time, things will work out, and HB2 will go away. But what worries me is the possibility that the Transgender movement will use HB2 as a launching pad to re-visit Obama’s threat, which would force public schools to allow a 16-year-old boy who thinks he’s a girl, to shower with a 14-year-old who is biologically a girl.
A week ago I never thought I would long for the day when a disrespectful quarterback was the big news story. Now, thanks to the NCAA and ACC, I’m worried about lost revenues for the state, and lost innocence for our kids. The NCAA has overstepped its authority, and should have stayed out of the HB2 battle, at least until after the election. Of course, Mr. Emmert has the right to speak his mind, but I also have the right to want to stuff one of Kaepernick’s socks in his mouth.
September 20, 2016 @ 3:24 pm
ACC/NCAA Playing Politics
Until last week the biggest sports story making news was about the San Francisco 49ers’ multi-millionaire quarterback Colin Kaepernick refusing to stand for the national anthem because he blames America and all police for isolated incidents of deadly racism. He also wears socks emblazoned with cartoon images of pigs dressed as cops. No doubt, young Mr. Kaepernick has the right to protest, and I have the right to wish someone would stick those pig socks in his mouth. In any event, Colin’s misdirected angst has been moved off of the front page and supplanted with another sports story which also has wide ranging social implications.
Last week the NCAA and ACC issued back-to-back press releases (can you say collusion?), in which they announced that they were moving championship events out of North Carolina because of HB2, a bill they say violates the civil rights of transgender persons who cannot use the bathroom of their choice. HB2 as you recall was enacted at the end of March in response to an illegal ordinance passed by the Charlotte city council which would have required all private businesses to accommodate Transgenders who desire to use bathrooms that correspond to the gender to which they identify. That was five months ago. Now suddenly, 60 days before a gubernatorial election the NCAA and ACC have decided that they should take punitive action. NCAA President Mark Emmert told the Associated Press, “The decision of course, occurred completely independent of what kind of year it was around politics.” Hey Mark, don’t pee down my back and tell me it’s raining! I’m not that stupid, and neither are the majority of North Carolinians who know when someone is playing politics. Last week’s announcements were clearly political. They were also misguided and unnecessary. Here’s why.
First and foremost, no matter how odious it is, HB2 does nothing to restrict the use of bathroom facilities at any of the venues where championship events would have been held.
Second, HB2 is not enforceable on any level. That was made clear by a federal judge who recently ruled in favor of the UNC system.
Third, HB2 has nothing to do with civil or gender identity rights under Title IX, a fact ignored by President Lame Duck, who issued a letter to every public school superintendent in the nation, and threatened to withhold federal funds if they don’t make accommodations for Transgender students. Fortunately, a federal judge in Texas has ruled that Title IX is clear about biological gender rights, and has halted Obama’s social engineering, at least temporarily. Nevertheless, The NCAA and ACC have mistakenly tied Title IX to HB2, and feel they have the moral authority to
punish fans and athletes for living in a State where a handful of gerrymandered politicians have passed a confusing, unenforceable law.
That brings me back to politics. If the NCAA and ACC were offended by what they thought was a restrictive bill, they should have let the law take its course before banning major sporting events from our state. Governor McCrory has said he wants the Supreme Court to weigh in on HB2, and it probably will. Meanwhile the Governor, who did not write or create HB2, has made repeated attempts to work out a compromise with Charlotte’s crusading Mayor Jennifer Roberts, but to no avail. Thus far, Mayor Roberts has been unwilling to scuttle her illegal ordinance , but if she does, then there is reason to believe that HB2 would be repealed in short order. In any event, Ms. Roberts’ chess move to embarrass the Governor by passing an ordinance that she knew was unconstitutional, has been a gift from heaven for Roy Cooper, whose poll numbers continue to rise with every new boycott. And now the NCAA and ACC are trying to put the final nail in McCrory’s political coffin by taking punitive action just weeks before sports fans go to the polls. If you doubt Mr. Emmert’s motives, then just ask yourself why the NCAA didn’t also ban events from all of the other states which have similar laws to ours.
It is an understatement to say that recent sanctions by the NCAA and ACC have a lot of people upset. After all, we’ll forfeit over $150 million dollars from the loss of those championship events alone. Even some of the Republican and Democrat legislators who voted for HB2 are now running for cover, and everyone seems to be blaming McCrory for the whole mess. It’s the first time I can recall that a sitting Governor has been thrown under the bus by both parties over the same issue, and the NCAA and ACC have provided the fuel for that bus to keep moving.
Of course, HB2 still has its defenders, and there are also those of us who don’t appreciate being bullied and penalized by a sports association for something we didn’t do. The NCAA, after all, has a history of imposing arbitrary sanctions, and often penalizes incoming players for a rule that was violated by outgoing players. That’s why it pleases me that several members of Congress are looking into the possibility that the NCAA has violated its tax exempt status by interfering with and trying to influence our upcoming election. Theirs is a legitimate concern, and a Congressional investigation could have an impact on curbing unfair sports sanctions in the future.
In time, things will work out, and HB2 will go away. But what worries me is the possibility that the Transgender movement will use HB2 as a launching pad to re-visit Obama’s threat, which would force public schools to allow a 16-year-old boy who thinks he’s a girl, to shower with a 14-year-old who is biologically a girl.
A week ago I never thought I would long for the day when a disrespectful quarterback was the big news story. Now, thanks to the NCAA and ACC, I’m worried about lost revenues for the state, and lost innocence for our kids. The NCAA has overstepped its authority, and should have stayed out of the HB2 battle, at least until after the election. Of course, Mr. Emmert has the right to speak his mind, but I also have the right to want to stuff one of Kaepernick’s socks in his mouth.