What’s this?
Could it happen?
Could Charlotte – and the whole of North Carolina — lose the annual CIAA Basketball Tournament?
Because of House Bill 2?
No one is predicting that just yet, but late Tuesday, the CIAA Board of Directors and Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams released a statement referencing the NCAA’s decision to pull seven championship sporting events from the state in protest of HB2. The statement also referenced the “ongoing, negative impact” that HB2 is having on North Carolina.
“This continues to be of concern to the CIAA with 8 of our 12 member-institutions residing in the state and our headquarters residing in Charlotte,” the statement read.
McWilliams said any decision to relocate the CIAA championship tournament “is at the discretion of the CIAA Board of Directors.”
Once more, no one is predicting that the CIAA tournament is about to bounce from the Qcity, but with other sports organizations taking a stand against transgender discrimination, surely the nation’s oldest and largest historically black collegiate athletic conference must be feeling some heat. After all, who better than African Americans understand the moral imperative to stand against all forms of discrimination?
The CIAA ended its statement with this:
“Our priority is always to provide our student-athletes the opportunity to compete, serve, and create impact within their communities and the CIAA footprint. The CIAA Board will continue to discuss and determine how to move forward for the collective interest of our student-athletes and stakeholders and for future of our conference. The CIAA is committed in providing the best experience for our student-athletes and creating a respectful and inclusive culture for our diverse membership and stakeholders.”
What do you think, Qcity? Should the CIAA join the growing list of businesses and sports organizations now shunning North Carolina because of HB2?
