Evangelist Franklin Graham has slammed the ACC for moving ten college sports championships out of North Carolina over the state law regarding sex-segregated bathrooms.
On Wednesday, the ACC voted to move the league's championship until the N.C. General Assembly repeals House Bill 2 or HB2, which overturns the ordinance that allows people to use bathrooms or locker rooms according to the gender they identify with instead of the gender of their birth. The ACC decision came just two day after the NCAA announced it will pull all 2017 championships from the state as well.
In response, Graham, the president of Samaritan's Purse and leader of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, sent a two-page letter to Commissioner John Swofford criticizing the move. He later sent the same letter to the presidents and chancellors of the conference's 15 schools.
Graham shared a copy of the letter on his Facebook page along with an explanation: "I sent this letter to the ACC Council of Presidents today after they voted to follow the NCAA's lead and pull sporting events out of North Carolina," he wrote. "All because of NC's law to protect women and children in the most vulnerable place of all--our bathrooms. They're such hypocrites--I think they deserve to be in the Hypocrites Hall of Fame!"
In his letter, the 64-year-old evangelist pointed out that ACC sponsors are conducting businesses in countries where homosexuality is illegal and asked, "Why isn't the LGBT community demanding you sever ties with such a "bigoted" corporate sponsor?"
Graham also argued that the NCAA is implementing rules that are discriminatory towards transgender people, as transgender athletes are required to participate in sports activities according to the gender of their birth.
He wrote: "I think I represent the views of millions who would rather preserve gender-specific public bathrooms-a mainstay for generations-than to attend a football game in my state to determine the champion of a conference governed by politically-correct, morally hypocritical academics."
The evangelist continued: "Please don't make political pawns of student-athletes who just want to play football or basketball in North Carolina, and don't continue to offend millions of Americans who endorse thousands of years of gender-specific bathrooms while you continue to accept corporate sponsorship money from companies proudly conducting their business in countries that discriminate against homosexuals to the point of death."
On his Facebook page, Graham called on state residents to write emails expressing their support for NC Gov. Pat McCrory, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and the state legislators.
"Let Gov. McCrory and the state legislators hear your support. Don't let them be forced into repealing HB2," Graham wrote.
