Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski applauded the NCAA’s decision to move its championships out of North Carolina to protest an anti-LGBT law in the state.
“I think it’s right for the NCAA to do that until we get rid of this discriminatory piece of legislation,” Krzyzewski told CNNMoney. “I would go to what my athletic director Kevin White said last night. His statement was right on and I agree 100%.”
White said in a statement that Duke University agrees with the NCAA’s decision.
“[T]his legislation is discriminatory, troubling and embarrassing,” White said Monday night. “We deplore any efforts to deprive individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, of legal protection and rights.”
He added that the university would “applaud” actions that protect diversity and inclusion.
Krzyzewski said that he admired White’s comments and that the tournament should move for “positive change” to somewhere “we’re not discriminating against any human being.”
In the past, Coach K has called the law “embarrassing.”
The NCAA is moving seven of its championships in various sports out of the state, including the first and second rounds of the 2017 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Those games were scheduled to be held in Greensboro, North Carolina from March 17 to March 19. (This season’s Final Four is scheduled to be held in Phoenix, Arizona.)
North Carolina’s anti-LGBT law was passed in March. It requires transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds to the sex listed on their birth certificates. It also prevents cities from passing laws that prohibit discrimination against LGBT individuals.
The NCAA said in April that any city that wants to host NCAA events, like the Final Four, will have to “provide an environment that is safe, healthy, and free of discrimination.”
The NBA also said it will pull the 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte, North Carolina.
