With events like the NCAA Tournament and NBA All-Star Game coming to North Carolina next year, several sports organizations on Thursday "said they're weighing" the state's new law "invalidating Charlotte's protections for LGBT individuals," according to a front-page piece by Peralta & Rothacker of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. The NBA in a statement said it is "deeply concerned that this discriminatory law runs counter to our guiding principles of equality and mutual respect." The league added that "it doesn't yet know what impact the law will have on it's ability to 'successfully host' the event." The NCAA also said that it is "monitoring the situation." ESPN, which has been considering Charlotte Motor Speedway as a possible X Games host site, said that it "embraces 'diversity and inclusion and will evaluate all of our options.'" Future NCAA events scheduled in the state "include first- and second-round games" in the NCAA Tournament in Greensboro in '17 and Charlotte in '18. The NCAA was "one of the first organizations to express concern about the religious freedom law last year in Indiana" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 3/25). VICE SPORTS' Kevin Trahan notes North Carolina is "typically a prime target for high-visibility events." Now, Greensboro and Charlotte "may face far bigger hurdles to receive bids" to host NCAA Tournament games and other sports championships. Former NCAA Senior VP/Basketball & Business Strategies Greg Shaheen said, "It's immensely limiting. You're basically saying we only want certain types of people to be here." The NCAA "has taken stands against discrimination before." The organization banned South Carolina and Mississippi from hosting NCAA events in '01 for "flying the Confederate flag," and in '05 it "banned schools with offensive Native American imagery from hosting events" (SPORTS.VICE.com, 3/24).
