NCAA President Mark Emmert on Thursday said the potential consequences of Indiana's recently passed religious freedom law are "more important" than this weekend's Final Four, adding he would recommend the association move its HQ from any area "that didn't prohibit discrimination," according to Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY. Emmert during his annual pre-Final Four press conference said, "I hope we don't find ourselves in that place. We hope they can resolve it quickly, not just because of this event but because it's an important issue to get the law right on and get it right fast." He added that the NCAA was "unable to land any reassurance that the law would not include any discriminatory aspects during conversations" with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and state legislators. Myerberg noted Republican lawmakers in Indiana earlier Thursday announced a proposed new measure "prohibiting the law from being used to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity." Emmert: "We are now awaiting the potential prevision of that bill. It's a bill that creates an environment within which college athletics would find it very difficult to operate." Univ. of South Carolina President Harris Pastides said that Emmert "made it clear to the NCAA Board of Governors that the law stood antithetical to the message of the association." Pastides: "We were very proud of the way (Emmert) handled it" (USATODAY.com, 3/2). Emmert and other NCAA officials said Thursday that they "will evaluate the impact of 'religious freedom' laws in states other than Indiana." Kansas State Univ. President Kirk Schulz indicated that discussion of the laws "would happen at an NCAA board of governors meeting later this month." Schulz: "This whole topic will be a major part of our agenda" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 4/3).
MAKING HIS MARK: USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes Emmert "has been a convenient target over the years," but faced with what "surely will be one of the biggest and most important issues of his tenure, Emmert has been decisive, he's been proactive and he's been resolute." He was "reluctant to take credit Thursday for Indiana's decision to clarify a religious freedom law that many believed would allow for discrimination of gays and lesbians." But it "is not an overstatement to say it was Emmert's quick and forceful disapproval last week, along with his not-so-veiled threat of pulling the NCAA and its events out of Indiana, that ignited the firestorm that forced lawmakers to backtrack." Emmert "has shown no hesitation in wading into the fray" over the bill, and in fact has been "quite the opposite" (USA TODAY, 4/3). CBSSPORTS.com's Gary Parrish wrote Emmert "deserves some credit for, if nothing else, getting a conversation started last week that escalated by the hour." He "spoke clearly and loudly and essentially threatened to move events that generate hundreds of millions of dollars for Indiana's economy" (CBSSPORTS.com, 4/2). In Detroit, Drew Sharp writes Emmert has stood "far taller" than Indiana's "shortsighted political leaders." He "acquitted himself nicely as Indiana looked foolish, flexing a political muscle that left no doubt who was actually calling the shots in this debate" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 4/3).
UNFAMILIAR POSITION: In Boston, Christopher Gasper writes the "oft-criticized" NCAA was "the winner in this debate." The association was "outspoken in its opposition of the law." It is "not often that the NCAA gets to be on the popular opinion side of cultural issues," but in this case an organization "that many despise got to wear the white hat" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/3). In Raleigh, Luke DeCock writes the NCAA "has the power to wield a heavy hammer" and "did just that" from the moment the bill was signed. Schulz said, "The NCAA has appropriately in the past been critiqued for being slow to respond to things. ... This is one of those times where I believe the rapid, quick, decisive communication from the NCAA office, by Mark and our staff, was exactly where we needed to be" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 4/3). In N.Y., Marc Tracy writes the NCAA because of the Indiana law "finds itself occupying a place where its critics rarely see it: the moral high ground" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/3).
VEHICLE FOR CHANGE: In Indianapolis, Mark Alesia writes Thursday at the Indiana Statehouse was "about using the local clout of sports to help move a seemingly intractable social issue." Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles, whose company owns Indianapolis Motor Speedway, "was behind closed doors with lawmakers as they tried to hammer out a solution." Emmert spoke with Pence and "explained to him 'the seriousness with which universities and colleges take issues like this.'" Hulman Senior VP/Events Allison Melangton, who previously "ran the Super Bowl host committee" for Indianapolis, "stood behind the lawmakers at a news conference." Standing with her was IMS President Doug Boles and Indianapolis Urban League President & CEO Tony Mason, who previously served as Super Bowl host committee Senior VP (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 4/3).
