NCAA won’t divest from schools that discriminate

INDIANAPOLIS — The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) will not divest from colleges and universities requesting religious exemptions from Title IX regulations that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, the association’s chief inclusion officer said March 15.

Bernard Franklin, executive vice president of education and community engagement, replied on NCAA’s behalf to a request from more than 80 LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) sports, religious and youth advocacy groups that NCAA punish 59 campuses claiming a new rule extending Title IX protection to transgender students violates their Christian faith. A number of these schools are affiliated with state conventions of Southern Baptists.

Franklin said NCAA’s diverse membership “offers students the opportunity to select from schools that value various attributes” and that Title IX waiver decisions are between the schools and the U.S. Department of Education, not NCAA.

(BNG)