NFL to Keep 2017 Super Bowl in Houston Despite Repealing of LGBT Law

The NFL won't move Super Bowl LI from Houston after voters repealed the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), which would've provided protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people against discrimination in the city.

BuzzFeed's Dominic Holden provided a statement from NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy:

John LaRue, a Houston-based attorney, said Tuesday night he feared the NFL might choose to change venues for the Super Bowl in 2017 as a result of the ordinance's repeal.

"The Super Bowl is slated to come in 2017, and there are rumblings of plans to ask the NFL to move and go elsewhere in support of LGBT people and other groups HERO would have protected," he said, per Avianne Tan of ABCNews.com.

The NFL faced a similar situation in February 2014 as Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer was weighing whether to sign a bill that would've allowed Arizona businesses the right to deny service to LGBT customers on religious grounds.

Erik Brady, Jim Corbett and Tom Pelissero reported at the time for USA Today the league was monitoring the matter and that the threat the NFL would move Super Bowl XLIX existed. Brewer ultimately vetoed the bill, which spared the league from a possible controversy.