NFL owners meetings stay in North Carolina despite controversial law

Critics say the law is discriminatory against the LGBT community.

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The NFL will not move its owners meetings in May out of North Carolina despite a controversial new law that critics say is discriminatory against the LGBT community, a league spokesman told ESPN’s David Newton.

“We embrace diversity and inclusiveness in all of our policies,” spokesman Brian McCarthy told ESPN. “The Panthers have made clear their position of non-discrimination and respect for all their fans. The city of Charlotte also has made clear its position.

“The meeting will take place in the city of Charlotte.”

The state’s new law, passed last month in just 12 hours, requires transgender people to use public bathrooms that match the gender on their birth certificates, rather than the one they identify with. Only transgender people whose biological sex has been changed on their birth certificate are exempt under the new law.

The USSF and the NBA have both said they will reconsider play in the state in light of the legislation.