Maine basketball took a stand on Saturday night ahead of the team’s game vs. Duke to protest North Carolina’s discriminatory HB2 bill. The team, playing in Durham, wore special warm-up shirts that displayed the rainbow LGBTQ flag and told the world exactly why players were wearing them.
Maine basketball protests North Carolina’s anti-LGBT bill ahead of Duke game
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
The shirts represent a partnership between the America East Conference and You Can Play, an initiative aimed at combating homophobic and transphobic discrimination while promoting inclusion in sports for people of all genders and sexual preferences.
The “Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act,” commonly known as HB2, was passed in March of 2016 by House Republicans, and as part of the sweeping legislation, it established laws concerning bathroom usage in government buildings. These include forcing people to use a bathroom that corresponds to their gender as defined on their birth certificates, which in the state of North Carolina can only be altered following gender reassignment surgery. It’s been called “the most anti-LGBT law in the U.S.”
North Carolina lawmakers decided not only to defend the bill in the face of public outcry, but fight it in courts despite the United States Department of Justice suing the state for discrimination. The move prompted numerous businesses to move away from North Carolina, including the NCAA, which stripped the state of seven upcoming college sports tournaments.
Maine’s decision to protest the bill with its warm-up shirts was explained to CBS Sports by senior Marko Pirovic:
“Just seeing how much inequality there is in some LGBT communities such as in North Carolina with the new law that was passed was very shocking, and I’m glad we can do something to stand up against it. Being part of You Can Play to me means standing up and being an ally to help change the culture of how the LGBT community is treated and showing them the support they have from athletes everywhere.”
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has also been vocal of his disdain for the bill, calling it “embarrassing.” North Carolinians elected Democratic candidate Roy Cooper to be the state’s new governor in November, ousting Pat McCrory, one of the biggest proponents of the HB2 bill. Cooper has said publicly that he does not plan to defend the bill against federal lawsuits, as McCrory did.
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