USC athletic director Pat Haden said on Tuesday he will boycott the College Football Playoff selection committee meetings in Indianapolis this week due to a new Indiana law critics allege could allow businesses to discriminate against gay people.
Haden, who has a gay son, made the announcement days after NCAA president Mark Emmert promised to ‘closely examine’ the impact of the controversial bill, set to take effect in July.
I am the proud father of a gay son. In his honor, I will not be attending the CFP committee meeting in Indy this week. #EmbraceDiversity
— Pat Haden (@ADHadenUSC) March 31, 2015
The selection committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday and Thursday in the Indiana capital, home to the NCAA’s headquarters and this year’s Final Four, which gets underway Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“I certainly understand and respect Pat’s position,” Bill Hancock, College Football Playoff executive director, told USA Today. “Everyone has the right to express their personal opinion, and Pat, to his credit, has expressed his. As a father and also a human being, I respect him for that. I will also express my personal opinion: I think they need to fix this. But my focus is on sports. Other people who are more knowledgeable that I am are better positioned to address this matter. Our group’s focus will remain on sports.”
Haden, who became USC’s athletic director in 2010 after careers as a player, broadcaster and in the private sector, was last year named one of 13 members of the inaugural College Football Playoff selection committee – the group established to choose the schools who will compete in the four-team playoffs to determine the national champion.
Indiana governor Mike Pence said on Tuesday he would move legislation this week to clarify the controversial act “does not give businesses the right to deny service”.
“Clearly, clearly, there’s been misunderstanding and confusion and mischaracterization of this law and I come before you today to say how we’re going to address that,” Pence said during a news conference in Indianapolis. “This law does not give anyone a license to discriminate.”
