The liberal sports media establishment is ramping up its pressure on the organization that governs college sports to punish the state of Texas as its gets ready to pass its own version of the North Carolina transgender bathroom bill.
The left-wing sports site Deadspin is rallying the troops to force the NCAA to punish Texas if it passes its own bathroom bill into law.
The Lone Star State is working on a bill that would require people to use restrooms in government-operated facilities that correspond to their birth sex, meaning that men pretending to be women would not be allowed to use the women’s restroom. But, as soon as the state began looking at such a law, sports leagues weighed in as if they should have a say in laws states consider.
Indeed, right after the bathroom bill was introduced, Lone Star Governor Greg Abbott slammed an executive of the NFL who warned the state that future Super Bowls would be canceled in Texas if the state should pass the bill.
“For some low-level NFL adviser to come out and say that they are going to micromanage and try to dictate to the state of Texas what types of policies we’re going to pass in our state, that’s unacceptable,” Abbott said early in March.
Since the governor’s comment, the state’s House of Representatives passed a version of the bathroom bill, and it now sits in the Senate awaiting consideration. And as the bill winds its way through the lawmaking process, Deadspin is now marshaling its forces to punish Texas over its impending passage.
The lefty sports site is now urging the NCAA to warn Texas that if it passes its bathroom bill, the organization will pull any future tournament games. But, Deadspin is upset that the NCAA has said nothing about this thus far.
“Meanwhile, the NCAA has issued nothing but radio silence when it comes to the Texas bills,” Deadspin complained.
Deadspin also scolded the NCAA for “posturing” but “ultimately did nothing as Houston, home of the 2016 Final Four, became the largest city in the nation lacking anti-discriminatory protections for LGBT citizens when it voted against an equal rights ordinance.”
Still, Deadspin wants the NCAA to act quickly:
With the inevitability of Texas’ regression all but confirmed, the case will now, presumably, require some sort of response from the NCAA. Whether the association decides to opt for its 2015 Houston approach (stammering followed by nothing) or its 2016 North Carolina approach (a surprisingly strong response followed by an equally unsurprising as-soon-as-possible exit) is yet to be seen.
You will recall that both the NCAA and the NBA punished North Carolina for its bathroom bill by pulling tournament games from the state. Despite that the boycott didn’t cause the state much financial pain, North Carolina still reversed its decision and repealed the law.
It is clearly this that Deadspin wants to emulate in Texas.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.