UNC, Duke coaches agree on one thing: HB2 'sad,' 'stupid'
GREENVILLE, South Carolina (WTVD) -- With words like "sad" and "stupid," North Carolina's top basketball coaches made their feelings known about the state of North Carolina politics.
Ahead of their first-round games on Friday, both UNC head coach Roy Williams and Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski lamented how the NCAA chose to move the games' location from Greensboro to Greenville, South Carolina.
"It bothers me, it's really something," Williams said at a news conference in Greenville. "It's sad to me, to be honest with you. The people in the state of North Carolina and the kids of North Carolina aren't getting the opportunities that we've had in the past and I think that's the biggest thing with me right there. It's not the way I'd like for it to be."
House Bill 2, passed last spring, mandates that men and women should use bathrooms according to the gender of their birth, not their conscience. The law also includes controversial clauses on non-discrimination ordinances and wages.
NCAA TIP OFF TIMES FOR NORTH CAROLINA TEAMS
Krzyzewski, whose team is also in Greenville, spoke more succinctly, but just as strongly.
"Look, it's a stupid thing," Coach K told members of the media, referring to HB2. "If I was president or governor, I'd get rid of it and I'd back up my promises. I don't want to take away from the people of South Carolina. They deserve to host the tournament whether our state is smart enough or stupid enough not to have it."
The NCAA will soon set locations for the sports tournaments for the next six years.
Efforts to repeal HB2 have so far stalled at the Legislature, including the bipartisan proposal HB186 that was pitched last month.
