Republicans want to dissolve NC’s high school sports administration. What’s the rush?

From targeting vulnerable populations and educators to civil rights ordinances, local tree-cutting, local statues and memorials, public notice advertising in newspapers and school board and city council elections, North Carolina Republicans have attempted to overstep and overreach across every issue this year.

The latest GOP politicized meddling comes through their effort to dissolve the independent North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) with House Bill 91, and replace it with a 17-member state commission appointed by politicians starting in the 2022-2023 school year.

• “The NCHSAA has governed high school sports for more than a century. Dissolving it might throw out years of experience and upend procedures for conducting playoffs, addressing rule violations and recruiting and retaining game officials,” stated by The News & Observer. “The proposed state commission could also expose high school sports to political meddling in such areas as conference assignments and disciplinary actions”.
  
• This is not the first time that NC Republicans have attempted to meddle with high school sports. In March, Republicans introduced the highly discriminatory House Bill 358, which sought to ban transgender youth from participating in sports teams and athletics within schools — recieving widespread backlash.

With COVID-19 relief, state budget talks on the horizon and the eviction moratorium ending, there’s plenty of needs Republicans should be prioritizing over their personal gripes with the athletic association. 

In their latest overreach, Republicans are once again proving what we already know to be true; their personal interests are far more important than addressing the critical needs of the state and North Carolinians.

Bottom Line: 

As a recent editorial states, “When it comes to sportsmanship and fair play, the General Assembly has a lot more to learn from student-athletes than it has to teach. Instead of needlessly politicizing high school sports, legislators’ time would be better spent negotiating with the governor to pass a state budget”.