City, LGBT leaders: Keep SoCon tourney in Asheville
Several city, county and state politicians in addition to leaders of Asheville’s LGBT community made it clear to Southern Conference commissioner John Iamarino on Tuesday that Asheville is the best place for the Southern Conference basketball tournament.
The future of the tournament has been a hot topic since several sporting events are being moved out of North Carolina to other states because of House Bill 2. That’s the law passed by the General Assembly in March that kept Charlotte from expanding protections against sexual discrimination in public accommodations, including not only gays and lesbians but also transgender people who are barred from restrooms aligned with their gender identity.
What followed was a firestorm of protest. Musicians such as Bruce Springsteen and Ringo Starr canceled concerts in North Carolina. The NBA moved its 2017 all-star game from Charlotte to New Orleans because of HB2.
Then the NCAA announced it was moving seven events, including first- and second-round games of the men’s basketball tournament scheduled to be held in Greensboro on March 17-19. The ACC made its own statement by saying it was relocating several league events, including the football championship scheduled for Dec. 3 in Charlotte.
Those were big moves, ones that will keep millions and millions of dollars from being spent in this state.
All of those departures have trickled down to Asheville, which has hosted the SoCon hoops tournament since 2012. There is pressure on the SoCon to show its support to the NCAA by relocating the hoops tournament. There is also pressure on local politicians who could look like they’re supporting HB2 by fighting to keep the tournament in Asheville.
Mayor Esther Manheimer, one of more than 30 people who attended the meeting at the U.S. Cellular Center, made it clear that Asheville’s desire to keep the tournament in no way shows acceptance of HB2.
“We talked with (Iamarino) about how Asheville is really a forward-thinking progressive community,” she said. “(That) we have worked hard to identify ourselves as a welcoming community. We welcome diversity, we value equality and we want the commissioner to be able to take that information back to the Southern Conference (presidents and chancellors) so they can make a decision about whether or not to keep the basketball tournament here in Asheville.”
She also said, “We’re hopeful that the Southern Conference can make the decision to stay in Asheville because we have worked so hard to differentiate ourselves from what HB2 stands for.”
The Southern Conference athletic directors are scheduled to hold a conference call Wednesday. On Thursday, they will be on a call with the chancellors and presidents of the 10 SoCon schools to answer any questions that will help in deciding what to do about the tournament. The chancellors and presidents will then have a private discussion and are expected to decide whether the tournament remains in Asheville or will be moved to a venue in another state.
One of the members of the LGBT community who attended the meeting was Yvonne Cook-Riley, executive director of Blue Ridge Pride, who made a statement in support of keeping the tournament here because it is beneficial to members of the LGBT community who own businesses or work at jobs that benefit from having the tournament here.
“I think we have a plan,” she said. “ I hope it works and that the SoCon will be with us, and the LGBT community will be supporting whatever their decision is.”
And that decision will be made by university leaders at Western Carolina, UNC Greensboro and those at eight schools outside of North Carolina.
"Watching the NCAA walk out the door and the ACC walk out the door, I know the Southern Conference will be under extreme pressure to make a similar decision,” Manheimer said.
Bob Berghaus is a Citizen-Times sportswriter. Follow him on Twitter @Bob_Berghaus