The NCAA - and college sports in general - have strong ties to the state of Indiana, giving the governing body good reason to monitor a controversial new bill.
According to the Indianapolis Star, the NCAA is keeping a close eye on Indiana's "religious freedom" law and how it might affect future events in the state. The NCAA is based in Indianapolis, a city scheduled to host several sporting events involving collegiate teams and athletes in the near future.
"The NCAA national office and our members are deeply committed to providing an inclusive environment for all our events," NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement. "We are especially concerned about how this legislation could affect our student-athletes and employees."
Indiana's Senate Bill 101 has gained its fair share of critics for appearing to allow companies to use religious beliefs to discriminate against potential employees. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who signed the bill into law Thursday, said that is simply not the case, the Star reported.
"This bill is not about discrimination, and if I thought it legalized discrimination I would have vetoed it," he told the newspaper.
The NCAA moved to Indianapolis from Kansas due to a lucrative investment deal from the city. The city is going to host the men's basketball NCAA Tournament Final Four next weekend, annually one of the most watched sporting events in the country.
The NCAA has also found itself on the forefront of LGBT issues in sports after Michael Sam and Derrick Gordon came out publicly and said they were supported in their own locker room.
"We will work diligently to assure student-athletes competing in, and visitors attending, next week's Men's Final Four in Indianapolis are not impacted negatively by this bill," Emmert said in his statement. "Moving forward, we intend to closely examine the implications of this bill and how it might affect future events as well as our workforce."
