Sports and politics and taking a stand

[cabbie191]

Before I start on this, I want to say upfront that it IS NOT MY INTENT to start a discussion on the merits of the Indiana religious freedom law.

I read today that Michigan State, Wisconsin and Duke - through their top administrative officials - have all decried the passage of the law. Yet none of the schools has threatened to ban their teams from participating in the Final Four.

The State of Connecticut has banned official travel to Indiana until changes are made.

Here is my question: If the Final Four for the women was being held in Indianapolis this year, what would your feelings be on the Huskies sitting out the tournament if the NCAA refused to move the event?

Lots of factors at play. 1) Following the state dictates. 2) Taking a principled stand (which implies sacrificing something important) 3) Fairness to the team members, and to a lesser extent, others involved - the cheerleaders, pep band, us as fans, the players' parents, etc.

 

[Jim]

Well, South Bend is in Indiana, so I think we should beat the crap out of ND every chance we get.

 

[Jeff H]

As far as the non-hypothetical situation with the men, I think you'd have to respect the right of the players individually or a team collectively to decide that they didn't want to play, but it would be really lousy if anyone told them they couldn't.

 

[jcoton56]

I would abide by the collective decision of the players.

 

[JellyBean]

"If the Final Four for the women was being held in Indianapolis this year, what would your feelings be on the Huskies sitting out the tournament if the NCAA refused to move the event?"

Great question. I would be extremely supportive and very proud of the administrative staff, the coaching staff, and the players. Talk about courage. Wow. And if, say, coach Auriemma made a statement on why the program is sitting out and giving up a chance to win a title, it would carry so much weight and lend a bigger voice to the moment. That would be brave and takes a lot of stones to do something like speak out when you see injustice. So I would be very proud and supportive.

 

[meyers7]

Here is my question: If the Final Four for the women was being held in Indianapolis this year, what would your feelings be on the Huskies sitting out the tournament if the NCAA refused to move the event?

I think it would be really stupid.

 

[2Husky]

I would rather see them play and use their platform to speak out against it. Current players shouldn't have to miss out on opportunities just because they were unlucky to have it happen during their time in school.

 

[SportsPageMike]

Sadly, sports and politics should not be involved together. This destroyed two Summer Olympics. Hopefully this will never happen again. As for the Indiana situation I really don't know the law but I would support whatever the team decided on.

 

[FollowerCT]

Sports do not live in a vacuum but in a societal environment ... if the Huskies chose not to go to the final four in Indianapolis this year, if this was indeed the case ... I feel this would be fitting ... treatment of citizens is larger than any sport ...

 

[browneyedwoman]

All four women's teams decide not to play in the final four. Now, that would be a statement.

C&B

 

[Aluminny69]

"In Syria, ISIS is throwing gay people off buildings. Maybe there are bigger battles to fight.” Bill Maher

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

"In Syria, ISIS is throwing gay people off buildings. Maybe there are bigger battles to fight.” Bill Maher

That is a much bigger battle, but it's also one where we have much less influence than in sports. The Final Four is big business, which is why it is much more likely to influence what happens in Indiana.

 

[Oldbones]

I'm picturing next year's Final Four:

(1) Notre Dame
(2) Purdue
(3) Indiana
(4) Valpo

 

[Wally East]

"In Syria, ISIS is throwing gay people off buildings. Maybe there are bigger battles to fight.” Bill Maher

This is poor rhetoric. Just because there are other problems in the world doesn't mean you can't choose to take on smaller ones.

I would leave it up to the team. If the team chose not to attend, then that would be difficult to argue against (although I'm sure some would). If they chose to attend, whether they took a stand against the law, that's fine, too.

 

[geneticrex]

Is anyone intimately familar with the legislation, how it would affect citizens on both sides of the legislation and if any other states have signed similar legislation into law???

Personally, as a former small business owner for almost 4 decades, I was concerned with offering quality service for fair compensation and little else.

 

[UcMiami]

The issue for institutions and for state institutions specifically is that the law allows for discrimination in ways that would not be allowed in their home locations/states. For organization traveling to Indiana under the new law, it could subject members of that organization to situations that would be comparable to what black professional athletes experienced when traveling with their teams to southern states 65 years ago. For that reason, I could easily see teams deciding that they would not subject teammates to that possibility. That is a real situation that cannot be just brushed aside as 'politics' or 'political correctness'.

 

[Zorro]

1. The law will be rescinded shortly. There is way too much economic pressure from the business community to withstand.
2. If I am wrong about that and the law stands, the NCAA will have to change the venue.

The Arkansas legislature passed a similar law yesterday which Gov. Hutchison had vowed to sign. WalMart and some other heavies did not like it. He ain't signin.

 

[John Glass]

The issue for institutions and for state institutions specifically is that the law allows for discrimination in ways that would not be allowed in their home locations/states. For organization traveling to Indiana under the new law, it could subject members of that organization to situations that would be comparable to what black professional athletes experienced when traveling with their teams to southern states 65 years ago. For that reason, I could easily see teams deciding that they would not subject teammates to that possibility. That is a real situation that cannot be just brushed aside as 'politics' or 'political correctness'.

not true

 

[Huskies Rule]

think globally, act locally