Roger Goodell on NC Transgender Law: ‘Anything That Discriminates Is Something We Oppose’

CHARLOTTE—On Tuesday, the NFL held a one day owner’s meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Commissioner Roger Goodell answered a question by a local reporter about holding the conference in a state that doesn’t allow transgendered individuals to use the bathroom of their choice in public buildings.

“We have our policies that do not support in any way any discrimination,” Goodell said. “It’s very important to us to have diversity. We have made that clear publicly. We made that clear in other situations.”

Why didn’t the NFL cave to special interest groups and move the meeting to another city?

“We made a commitment here a long time ago,” Goodell said. “The city of Charlotte has continued to fight this issue. I spoke to [Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts] as recently as yesterday about these issues.”

Goodell, like Mayor Roberts, seems in favor of reversing the law.

“Anything that discriminates is something we oppose and we will continue to fight that,” Goodell said. “We have a franchise here. The Carolina Panthers play here, they operate here, and we want to work with the community.”

While the NFL seems to oppose the law, right now they don’t want to use heavy-handed tactics, as PayPal and Bruce Springsteen did, to pressure the state to reverse House Bill 2.

“We aren’t going to threaten the community,” Goodell said. “We are going to work with the community to make the effective changes that are necessary long-term.”