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ACC commissioner calls for HB2 repeal

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hours after the NCAA's decision to yank championship games from North Carolina, a conference leader is weighing in on the matter.

The ACC Football Championship has been held in Charlotte since 2010. But now its leaders are discussing the controversial HB2 during meetings Tuesday and Wednesday. The discussion of HB2 was scheduled prior to the NCAA's decision to pull games from North Carolina due to the law.

In a statement, ACC Commissioner John Swofford said "On a personal note, it's time for this bill to be repealed as it's counter to basic human rights."

NCAA's president Mark Emmert called the decision to pull championship games from North Carolina a "proverbial no-brainer", during an interview with CBS News.

He also said he has spoken with North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory throughout the process.

"I had spoken to him in the spring about it and he has expressed a lot of views about it throughout this process but I hadn't spoken to him last evening," Emmert said Tuesday.

Republican Party leaders and conservative organizations unleashed a flurry of statements scolding the NCAA's decision Wednesday.

"The issue of redefining gender and basic norms of privacy will be resolved in the near future in the United States court system for not only North Carolina, but the entire nation," McCrory said. "I strongly encourage all public and private institutions to both respect and allow our nation's judicial system to proceed without economic threats or political retaliation toward the 22 states that are currently challenging government overreach."

Several organizations alluded to the NCAA's handling of campus sexual assaults.

"I wish the NCAA was this concerned about the women who were raped at Baylor," NCGOP spokeswoman Kami Muellers said.

The seven championship events that will be relocated from North Carolina for 2016-17:

  • 2016 Division I Women's Soccer Championship, College Cup (Cary), Dec. 2 and 4.
  • 2016 Division III Men's and Women's Soccer Championships (Greensboro), Dec. 2-3.
  • 2017 Division I Men's Basketball Championship, first/second rounds (Greensboro), March 17 and 19.
  • 2017 Division I Women's Golf Championships, regional (Greenville), May 8-10.
  • 2017 Division III Men's and Women's Tennis Championships (Cary), May 22-27.
  • 2017 Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship (Cary), May 26 and 28.
  • 2017 Division II Baseball Championship (Cary), May 27-June 3.
NCAA pulls 7 Championship from NC

The NCAA has pulled championship games out of NC because of controversial bathroom law, HB2. Here's what you need to know about the controversy: http://on.wsoctv.com/2ctRtQE

Posted by WSOC-TV on Tuesday, September 13, 2016