Will NCAA decision be the tipping point for North Carolina’s anti-LGBT law?

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The NCAA’s decision to pull seven championships out of North Carolina ratchets up the pressure on this college sports-crazy state to repeal its law on bathroom use by transgender people.

Unlike the recent one-time cancellations by the NBA and various rock stars, the move by college sports’ governing body could make moderate and conservative voters question whether the price tag for the law has finally become too high.

Economic development officials said the effect of the NCAA’s action goes well beyond the projected $20 million in lost revenue from the cancellation of the 2016-17 basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, lacrosse and golf events.

“College sports is part of the fabric of North Carolina. It’s part of the culture. I can say with confidence that there’s no other state in the country that loves its college sports more than North Carolina. That’s why it hits so hard and feels so personal,” said Scott Dupree, executive director of the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, which was coordinating four of the events being moved.

The law passed in March requires transgender people to use restrooms in schools and state government buildings that correspond to the gender on their birth certificate. It also excludes gender identity and sexual orientation from statewide antidiscrimination protections.

The Obama administration is suing the state over the measure, calling it discriminatory. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and GOP leaders are defending it as a means of protecting the privacy and safety of women and girls.

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