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ACC pulls 10 events out of N.C.

 
Published Sept. 15, 2016

Two days after the NCAA pulled its championships out of North Carolina in protest of the state's House Bill 2 law, the ACC announced Wednesday it is moving the 10 neutral-site league championships that had been scheduled in the state during the 2016-17 academic year.

That includes the conference championship game in football, which had been scheduled for Dec. 3 in Charlotte. It was unclear Wednesday where the football championship and other league events would be played.

The ACC announced the decision after its Council of Presidents concluded its meetings in Clemson, S.C.

"The ACC Council of Presidents made it clear that the core values of this league are of the utmost importance, and the opposition to any form of discrimination is paramount," ACC commissioner John Swofford said in a statement.

Other ACC championships that are being relocated are women's soccer, women's swimming and diving, men's diving, men's and women's tennis, women's golf, men's golf and baseball.

The football championship game, which had been played in Charlotte since 2010, had an economic impact of $32.4 million last year, according to the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.

The result of Wednesday's vote among the league's 15 school presidents was not known, but it required a simple majority.

The Central Florida area is interested in hosting all of the ACC events moved from the state, said Jason Siegel, interim president & CEO of the Central Florida Sports Commission.

HB2 limits anti-discriminatory protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. It also stipulates which bathrooms transgender people can use.

"Looking ahead, I am very concerned about other sports organizations that may be next in line," said Scott Dupree, executive director of the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance

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