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As lawmakers all over the country cruelly wrestle over bathroom and locker room criteria, many athletic organizations loudly denounce legislation designed to discriminate against trans individuals. In states — like Texas — where athletics hold near-religious significance, these sports leaders have made clear that a place where you can’t use facilities matching your gender identity isn’t somewhere they want to play ball.
The NCAA plans to hold the 2018 Final Four tournament in San Antonio’s Alamodome, but based on its threat to pull out of North Carolina over legislation similar to what Texas is considering, pressure will surely mount to relocate the biggest event in college basketball. A study for the city suggests that could eliminate a $234 million economic impact for the region.
The Texas Association of Business has already started running radio ads expressing concerns the National Football League will toss aside the Dallas Cowboys’ bid to host the draft if the anti-trans Senate Bill 6 passes. Chicago in 2015 enjoyed an $81 million windfall from hosting the draft, and Philadelphia this year expects the same or greater.
The National Basketball Association responded to North Carolina’s bathroom discrimination law by relocating its annual All-Star Game from Charlotte to New Orleans. The sports organization already has signaled that any Texas city hoping to host such an event should be wary of this anti-trans legislation. “We consider a wide range of factors when making decisions about host locations for league-wide events like the All-Star Game — foremost among them is ensuring the environment where those who participate and attend are treated fairly and equally,” said NBA spokesman Mike Bass in a statement to the Houston Chronicle.
The National Football League charged at proposed bathroom legislation by threatening not to hold a Super Bowl in the state of Texas should the bill pass. “If a proposal that is discriminatory or inconsistent with our values were to become law there, that would certainly be a factor considered when thinking about awarding future events,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told the Houston Chronicle. Estimates indicate that when the Super Bowl was held in Houston, the city enjoyed a $347 million boost to the local economy. Four other Super Bowls have been held in the state just since 2004, and the Lone Star State has hosted the biggest event in U.S. sports more times than any other state except Florida.
The Big 12 college conference right now expects to host its footnall championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington this December. But especially after the Atlantic Coast Conference decided to boycott North Carolina last year over House Bill 2’s passage, eyes will be on the Big 12 to decide how to respond to a Texas bathroom law. “We will track the bill’s progress through the Legislature, and at an appropriate time discuss its impact with our member institutions,” a Big 12 spokesman told The New York Times.
College football championships could prove Texas’s sensitive spot, with seven bowl games scheduled in Texas, including the Frisco Bowl in Frisco; Lockheed Martin Armed Services Bowl in Fort Worth; Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl in Dallas; AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl in Houston; Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio; Hyundai Sun Bowl in El Paso; and Goodyear Cotton Bowl in Arlington.
PGA of America declined to pull its 2017 Championship out of Charlotte after passage of HB 2 in North Carolina, but made clear it opposed the legislation. “As we look to future events, our willingness to consider coming back to the State of North Carolina will be severely impacted unless HB2 is overturned,” read a PGA statement. Will that extend to Texas if bathroom legislation passes? The Lone Star State is home to such tournaments as the Houston Open, Texas Open, Byron Nelson Classic and Colonial National Invitational.
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