Stripped of NCAA Tournament basketball games because of its new public bathroom law, the State of North Carolina bore the brunt of heavy criticism Thursday from well-known sports figures. The law requires people to use the public bathroom of their birth gender. Conservatives say the law is needed to protect women and girls from predators, but LGBT activists want people to be able to choose their restroom based on “gender identity.”
NCAA Tournament games originally intended for North Carolina sites were yanked away and moved to South Carolina. The controversy flared up again as media questioned coaches from North Carolina universities about the topic.
Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewsk said of the law, “Look, it’s a stupid thing. That’s my political statement. If I was president or governor I’d get rid of it. And I’d back up my promises. As unusual as that might be. Anyway, I don’t want to get too political.”
His University of North Carolina rival, Coach Roy Williams, agreed, saying he’s “very sad, very disappointed about the whole thing.”
From his commentator’s seat at CBS, Barkley came on stronger:
“No. 1, I really admire and respect coach Krzyzewski because he doesn’t have to do anything. He’s already a living legend. He’s got more money than he’s ever gonna spend, but I really appreciate him standing up for my gay friends.
“Now, my point, as a black man, I am against any form of discrimination whether you’re gay, Muslim, hispanic, Jewish, whatever, and, if people in position of power don’t support these people, they’re gonna be left in a lurch by themselves.
“All these other groups are getting to feel what black people feel like now. With the Muslim ban, they’re deporting these immigrants, white folks are actually getting an opportunity to feel what black people have always felt. Discrimination is wrong in any shape whatsoever.”
A fact-check of Barkley’s statement reveals that President Trump’s temporary immigration ban of people from a handful of nations has been twice struck down by courts. The president’s executive orders have not resulted in the deportation of anyone from the U.S.
