NCAA adopts anti-discrimination process for sites bidding on championships

BY DAVID PERLMUTT
APRIL 27, 2016 10:21 PM

Without mentioning North Carolina’s House Bill 2, the NCAA’s Board of Governors on Wednesday adopted a requirement that sites bidding on NCAA events demonstrate they will provide safe environments free of discrimination.

“The higher education community is a diverse mix of people from different racial, ethnic, religious and sexual orientation backgrounds,” Kirk Schulz, president of Kansas State University and the board’s chair, said in a release on the NCAA’s website. “So it is important that we assure that (the) community – including our student-athletes and fans – will always enjoy the experience of competing and watching at NCAA championships without concerns of discrimination” ...

The board said it considers inclusiveness of race, religion sexual orientation and gender identity “as a vital element to protecting the well-being of student-athletes, promoting diversity in hiring practices and creating a culture of fairness.”

The NCAA has banned events in states that fly the Confederate flag and has prohibited members from hosting championships if their school nicknames use Native American images “considered abusive and offensive.”

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