Indiana law is harmful to athletics
With the men’s Final Four being held in Indianapolis this upcoming weekend, I expected most of the focus to be on Kentucky’s quest to become the first team to finish a college basketball season undefeated since, ironically, the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers.
I’m only an aspiring novelist, but I couldn’t think of a better story-book ending here than for the Wildcats to reach the 40-win pinnacle and by winning the national championship, without a single blemish on their record, in what is considered to be the cradle of basketball.
Just under 40 years ago, Hall of Fame head coach Bobby Knight led the Hoosiers to a perfect, 32-0 record on their way to cutting down the nets in 1976. Evidently, no one’s been able to match the Hoosier’s unrivaled perfection since then.
Meanwhile, the state of Indiana has been perceived as everything but perfect this past week after Indiana governor Mike Pence signed into law the Religious Freedom Restoration Act this past Saturday.
The law has prompted resentment toward the state from across the nation. Gay rights activists and opposers of the law claim that it will give Indiana businesses, landlords and employers the power to discriminate against the LGBT community.
Though the actual meaning and extension of the law seems to lack clarity and continues to be debated around the nation, it’s what the law stands for, the homophobic nature of the law, that has driven so many to call a flagrant foul on the state, even in the sports world.
In fact, our very own USC Athletic Director Pat Haden brought his stance on the Indiana law to the forefront earlier this week by announcing that he would be skipping the College Football Playoff Committee’s meeting in Indiana this week in support of his son, who happens to be gay.
“I am the proud father of a gay son.In his honor, I will not be attending the CFP committee meeting in Indy this week. #EmbraceDiversity”, Haden said on Twitter.
With his esteemed statement of endearment for not only his son, but the gay community as a whole, Haden not only continues to embody diversity for his student-athletes, but has also set the tone for other athletics directors at universities across the nation to take a similar position.
“Pat Haden is a shining light for other universities to follow,” USC track and field athlete Allen Williams, who is openly gay and a member of the LGBT USC Athletics Committee, told Annenberg TV News.
Haden, simply by speaking from his heart, has already emerged as a hero in this dilemma, but for President Mark Emmert and the NCAA , whose headquarters are located in Indiana, the battle is just beginning.
Anyhow, at the pit of the NCAA’s core values is the notion calling for an inclusive culture that fosters equitable participation for student-athletes and career opportunities for coaches and administrators from diverse backgrounds.
The Indiana law, effective in July, could undermine the NCAA’s ability to provide that type of inclusive environment for each and every one of its student-athletes in the state, which creates a sizable problem.
It’s truly a shame that a law like this could potentially hinder an athlete’s ability to play at the highest level of collegiate athletics or even professionally.
Just this past year, monumental strides were made in the LGBT athletic community, as Michael Sam became the first openly gay player to be drafted to play in the National Football League, while University of Massachusetts basketball player Derrick Gordon emerged as the first openly gay player in Division I men’s college basketball.
The NCAA has already taken a verbal stance against the Indiana law saying that it was going to closely examine its implications, but in this case, it must be working to take all of the necessary action in order to protect its member institutions.
For a change, it shouldn’t be about the money, but rather the student-athlete, and I’m glad that the NCAA is emphasizing early on that this is a big deal.
In an interview with ESPN’s Andy Katz, Emmert said that inclusion and diversity are values that are fundamental to what college athletics are all about and what higher eduction is all about.
Pending a further clarification of the bill, Emmert added that it could lead to the NCAA reevaluating its decisions to house its offices or hold future events in the newly created environment by the Indiana law.
With the city of Indianapolis hosting a plethora of national collegiate sporting events every year including the men’s and women’s final four (next year), the Big-10 conference tournament and its football championship game, there’s a lot on the line for not only the city, but for the NCAA.
Amidst all the bad publicity that the NCAA seems to magnetize, this is an opportunity for them to finally echo the voice of the student-athlete and do the right thing: to not put any of its members or their families in the position to be discriminated against.
I I had a lacrosse coach in high school, who told us that his job was to love us. When he asked us what our job was, we would tell him that it was to love each other.
He showed me that regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or anything else that differentiates us all, it’s the love of sport that brought us all together, which just goes to show the tremendous power that it has to influence this important issue moving forward.
Darian Nourian is a junior majoring in print and digital journalism. He is also the sports editor of the Daily Trojan. His column, “Persian Persuasion,” runs Thursdays.