With the NBA offseason in full swing, typically this is a dead time for basketball fans. But not too long after free agency, we’ll have some Olympic basketball to look forward to, putting many eyes on those involved with Team USA as they head to Rio to bring home the gold. Those practices are ongoing right now, and plenty involved are making some news, including head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Krzyzewski, who’s also the coach of the Duke Blue Devils, told USA TODAY Sports that he did not like the controversial anti-LGBT HB2 bill that was passed in North Carolina. He told USA TODAY Sports:
“It’s an embarrassing bill. That’s all I’m going to say about it.”
Krzyzewski’s comments come less than a week after Duke released their schedule, which has been affected by this. Albany was initially scheduled to play the Blue Devils in Durham, but New York governor Andrew Cuomo passed an executive order in March banning publicly-funded, non-essential travel to North Carolina because of the discriminatory bill. This led to Duke’s game with Albany being cancelled.
The cancellation of the game was not the first demonstration of a movement in opposition of the bill. The NCAA implemented an anti-discrimination process for host bids, and the NBA has spoken out on more than one occasion due to the bill and threatened to remove the 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte if the bill isn’t repealed.
On top of Krzyzewski’s comments, other North Carolina coaches have spoken out against the HB2 bill. North Carolina State head coach Mark Gottfried also expressed his opposition to USA TODAY:
“I’m against any law that allows discrimination, whether that’s based on race, gender, sexual orientation,” Gottfried told USA TODAY Sports. “I don’t understand how someone can support this. I think the people at N.C. State, we believe in inclusion. Being a resident of the state, for me and my family, it’s been frustrating.”
Elon’s Matt Matheny also expressed why he doesn’t like the bill, specifically because of what it takes away from what he does as a coach in being able to interact with different types of people:
“What I love about coaching is that I can sit down with players of different backgrounds,” Matheny said. “It’s important to expose players to what’s going on outside the basketball court. It’s important that they’re aware of issues that our state and our country faces. As coaches, we’re the leaders. It’s important that we as coaches at programs — big or small — use our platform to promote a positive message.”
It’s been great to see coaches with big platforms step up and challenge the absurdity of this bill. Voices like Krzyzewski’s speak volumes considering his legendary status, and the comments from Gottfried, Matheny and other coaches make a big differecne too. Moreover, when you also have the NBA threatening to take one of its biggest events out of your state’s biggest city, you are more likely to see change.
