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Swofford Says ACC Will Require LGBT Protection From Host Sites, Echoing Emmert

ACC Commissioner John Swofford this week echoed comments made by NCAA President Mark Emmert during the Final Four, saying the conference "will require from any site that we are scheduled to already go to or any site that we are considering going to in the future a statement and a full commitment of adherence to fairness, to inclusiveness, to non-discriminatory practices at that venue and in that city." Swofford: "If that is met then that will suffice, but it’s an important issue. Our league has been all about inclusiveness and not having discriminatory policies from day one and continue to be. Our people seem to be, by and large, comfortable at this point in time with where the NCAA is in addressing that going forward and our policy at this point is very similar" (“ACC Now,” THEACC.com, 5/9). In Greensboro, Powell Latimer noted Emmert's initial comments came "in direct response to questions about North Carolina’s controversial HB 2 law." The law "doesn’t preclude North Carolina from hosting NCAA postseason events or ACC championship events -- but it does make it more difficult for venues across the state to meet the NCAA standard." ACC championships "have long been based in North Carolina." The ACC’s football championship game "has a long-term home in Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium, and the conference’s basketball tournament is slated to return to North Carolina" in '19 after a three-year absence (Greensboro NEWS & RECORD, 5/10). In Virginia, David Teel notes the presidents and/or faculty at three ACC schools in North Carolina -- Duke, Wake Forest and UNC -- "have called for the law's repeal." How seriously ACC schools object to HB2 "figures to be evident later this week" when the conference announces '16-17 championship sites (Hampton Roads DAILY PRESS, 5/10). 

NEW DAWN: In Phoenix, Paul Giblin reports local organizers are "seeking clarification from the NCAA" about whether the '17 Final Four in Arizona is "safe from a threat to remove events from sites without protections" for the LGBT community. The matter "came into question late last month" when the NCAA BOG "adopted a new requirement for sites hosting or bidding on college sports events." Organizers "must demonstrate how they will provide environments that are 'safe, healthy and free' of discrimination." However, the NCAA "has not provided details about how the policy will be implemented." NCAA Final Four Phoenix Local Organizing Committee Exec Dir & CEO Dawn Rogers said, "We are working with them as an association on exactly what this means for our community. But I think it's unfortunate, the speculation that because we don't have certain laws that state specifically that certain groups will not be discriminated against, that that would mean we have an issue here. We don't" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 5/10).

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