NCAA president Mark Emmert told ESPN's Andy Katz Monday his organization is "surprised and disappointed" about a new law in Indiana designed to protect individuals' religious freedom. Their concern mirrors that of LGBT activists: the bill (which is similar to acts passed by both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama) could be used to allow businesses to discriminate against LGBT customers.
In his remarks, Emmert hinted that the NCAA might pull events from the state in the future if Indiana did not make the changes they wanted to see:
EMMERT: I'm anxiously awaiting whatever clarification that the legislature can bring forward to this bill so we can really know what it means and what it doesn't mean. As it becomes better understood, we're going to have to sit down and make judgments about whether or not it changes the environment for us doing our work and for us holding events.
The NCAA has made clear that it is going to be watching closely to see if the bill is changed to protect against discrimination, or repealed altogether, before it becomes official state law in July.
Other high-profile voices have joined the anti-Religious Freedom Act chorus, including several governors, who have threatened travel bans for government employees to Indiana unless the law is changed, and Apple CEO Tim Cook who wrote an op-ed warning that there’s “something very dangerous happening across the country” and declaring that Apple would “never tolerate discrimination.”
Like the religious freedom acts in 19 other states, which are largely based on the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act signed into law by Bill Clinton, Indiana's RFRA prohibits the government from "substantially burdening" the religious freedom of people, which includes their businesses and associations.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has been making the rounds explaining the context of the law and defending its potential interpretations. In an interview with This Week’s Democrat activist-turned newsman George Stephanopoulos, Pence finally got fed up with the former Clinton administration member pushing the left's characterization of the law as inherently discriminatory and called out Stephanopoulos for promoting "shameless rhetoric about my state and about this law.”
UPDATE: In a press conference Tuesday, Pence called for a legislative amendment to the RFRA to clarify its intent and ensure that it “does not give businesses the right to deny services to anyone.”
Video via ESPN.