Final-4 (March Madness) maakt van Indianapolis Podium voor Protest tegen Discriminerende Wet Indiana

Obama's strijdkreet mag dan wel luiden "There are no Red States in the USA, there are no Blue States; there's only the United States of America", dat zien de conservatieven anders... En aangezien Indiana zeker bij de meer conservatieve staten hoort, werd daar een wet aangenomen die nogal discriminerend is voor wie niet 'Wit, Hetro en Conservatief' is. Dat terwijl Basketball, en zeker de wereld van Universiteiten en Colleges - zeker in het Basketball - erg zijn best doet het tegendeel na te streven. Die twee werelden botsen tijdens de Final-4...zo werden er door veel mensen en instanties daden gesteld en/of verklaringen afgegeven, zo ook de vier Coaches van de Final-4 Mannen-teams (zie het bericht van Fansided.com hieronder).

Final Four coaches issue statement on controversial Indiana law
by Stanford Crissey (3d ago)

The coaches of the Final Four teams issued a joint statement about the Indiana Religious Freedom Act

The state of Indiana has come under heavy fire recently for passing the Indiana Religious Freedom Act, which many argue makes it legal to discriminate, particularly against gays and lesbians, under the guise of protecting religious beliefs.

The NCAA itself has also issued a statement the law, saying in part that it is “concerned about how this legislation could affect our student-athletes and employees.”

Indianapolis is also hosting the Final Four, and the Final Four coaches, Tom Izzo, Mike Kryszewski, Bo Ryan, and John Calipari, have issued a joint statement on the new law.

The statement reads as follows:

“We are aware of the recent actions in Indiana and have made a point to talk about this sensitive and important issue among ourselves and with our teams. Each of us strongly supports the positions of the NCAA and our respective institutions on this matter – that discrimination of any kind should not be tolerated. As a part of America’s higher education system, college basketball plays an important role in diversity, equality, fairness and inclusion, and will continue to do so in the future.”

Despite the continued insistence of Indiana lawmakers, including governor Mike Pence, that the law is not intended to discriminate against anyone, the state is catching some serious heat for this.

-- Here’s -- a sampling of some of the social media backlash from some sports and entertainment figures