US Soccer Issues Statement Regarding North Carolina's Transgender Law

The United States Soccer Federation is evaluating whether it will stage games or events in North Carolina after the state passed a law requiring transgender people to use the public bathrooms corresponding to their birth certificates, among other measures.

“Given the legislation, I’ve asked the people who handle our games to reconsider,” federation president Sunil Gulati told Steven Goff of the Washington Post. “We think the legislation in the year 2016 goes far beyond anything that is appropriate in trying to balance the positions of religious organizations and the long, hard-earned rights by the LGBT community and others.”

U.S. Soccer may avoid other states that took up similar legislation, Gulati hinted.

“We looked at the Arizona issue a few years ago and continue to monitor issues that most of the country believes in and has come to accept," he noted. "Certainly we think more tolerance and openness is a good thing.”

Other organizations are also deciding whether to do future business in the state after the law passed, including the NBA, which has hinted it may move the 2017 All-Star game out of Charlotte based on the legislation.

The issue isn't unique to North Carolina, however.

A "religious freedom" bill that would have allowed business owners in Georgia the right to refuse service to gay or transgender people based on their beliefs was recently vetoed by governor Nathan Deal.

Many organizations pushed back against that bill, including the NFL, which indicated it may not have hosted the Super Bowl in the state in the future had the bill passed.

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