RALEIGH, NC — It has been one year since the passage of House Bill 2 in North Carolina.
Amid the ongoing battle to repeal the controversial bill, Governor Roy Cooper issued a statement to mark the anniversary.
“Today marks a dark anniversary for our state. For one year now, HB2 has harmed our reputation and cost our economy thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars. I have offered numerous compromises and remain open to any deal that will bring jobs and sports back to North Carolina and begin to repair our reputation.”
“North Carolinians have spoken clearly that HB2 does not reflect our values and must be repealed. Legislative Republicans have been all too happy to use their supermajorities to pass damaging partisan laws. Itβs time for them to step up, meet halfway, and repeal HB2.”
The NCAA also posted a statement to their website reaffirming their stance on whether or not to hold events and games in NC while HB2 remains.
βLast year, the NCAA Board of Governors relocated NCAA championships scheduled in North Carolina because of the cumulative impact HB2 had on local communitiesβ ability to assure a safe, healthy, discrimination free atmosphere for all those watching and participating in our events. Absent any change in the law, our position remains the same regarding hosting current or future events in the state. As the state knows, next week our various sports committees will begin making championships site selections for 2018-2022 based upon bids received from across the country. Once the sites are selected by the committee, those decisions are final and an announcement of all sites will be made on April 18.β
