Following North Carolina’s decision last week to repeal HB2 — referred to in the media as the “bathroom bill” — through the passage of compromise legislation, the NCAA has announced that it will once again allow the state to host collegiate championship games.

In a statement released yesterday, the NCAA explained its reasoning — and signaled some reluctancy in returning to the state: “While the new law meets the minimal NCAA requirements, the board remains concerned that some may perceive North Carolina’s moratorium against affording opportunities for communities to extend basic civil rights as a signal that discriminatory behavior is permitted and acceptable, which is inconsistent with the NCAA Bylaws.”

Nevertheless, the NCAA’s decision may help bring to an end a yearlong, relentless bullying campaign which saw a number of corporations, entertainment figures, and sports leagues threaten to cease doing business with the state as long as HB2 remained law. But while last week’s repeal has seemed to satisfy many of those groups, LGBT activists have continued to denounce the state, calling the compromise bill a “repeal in name only” and “HB 2.0.”

And the NCAA’s restoration of championship games in North Carolina has only added fuel to the fire for the Left’s disdain for the state. A ThinkProgress piece published today, for example, proclaimed, “The NCAA failed the transgender community,” while a columnist at The Week accused the NCAA of having “only the thinnest possible commitment to LGBT rights.”

According to the NCAA’s statement, championships awarded to North Carolina for 2017-18 will move forward as planned, though further documentation “demonstrating how student-athletes and fans will be protected from discrimination” will be required from sites being considered for future events.

Photo credit: Tom Woodward via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0