NCAA Ends Ban On Championships in North Carolina After Parts of ‘Bathroom Bill’ Repealed

The NCAA ended its six-month ban on holding championship events in North Carolina following the state’s repeal of parts of its controversial “bathroom bill.”

In a statement on Tuesday, the NCAA said its board of governors “reluctantly voted” to lift the ban after North Carolina legislatures repealed House Bill 2 (HB2) and replaced it with a new law that meets “the minimal NCAA requirements.”

The NCAA will determine the location of championship games around the country from 2018 to 2022 in the coming weeks.

“We are actively determining site selections, and this new law has minimally achieved a situation where we believe NCAA championships may be conducted in a nondiscriminatory environment,” the NCAA said in a statement. “If we find that our expectations of a discrimination-free environment are not met, we will not hesitate to take necessary action at any time.”

The NCAA pulled seven championship events from North Carolina for the 2016-2017 season as a result of the law.

Under mounting pressure, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill last week that repealed parts of the early House Bill 2 (or HB2). The compromise has been criticized by members of both sides of the debate, as conservatives preferred to keep HB2 and members of the LGBTQ community believe the new bill still allows for discrimination.

Requiring transgender people to use public bathrooms that corresponded with the gender on their birth certificate, the original law provoked national controversy and debate when it was enacted last year.

The NCAA’s decision comes the morning after the University of North Carolina men’s basketball team won the 2017 NCAA Tournament Monday evening, 71-65.