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There does seem to be some misconceptions about the restrictions that have been put in place by the state of California, and how it might affect future contests. California enacted a travel funding ban (for public employees) to states that have recently enacted discriminatory laws against the LGBTQ community. That includes all members of the University of California, and hence Cal Athletics.
Let’s clear up those misconceptions for those worried about Cal’s season opener being rescheduled or cancelled. Those games are still on.
California’s travel ban took effect in January and specifically includes the two university systems. But it also exempts them from the ban to fulfill any athletic contracts they entered into with schools in the affected states before Jan. 1. That helps many major college athletic teams — for now — because they set their travel schedules with other schools sometimes years in advance.
That includes...
- The California Golden Bears road trip to North Carolina this season. AB1887 passed in California in direct response to the infamous North Carolina HB 2 law, better known as the bathroom bill.
- Cal’s road trip to Ole Miss in 2019. Mississippi House Bill 1523 can allow businesses to deny services to the LGBT community and anyone who offends religious beliefs of those businesses
- Cal’s road trip to TCU in 2021. Texas governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 3859, allowing child welfare providers to deny adoptions and other services to children and parents based on “sincerely held religious beliefs”.
- Cal’s road trip to Auburn in 2024. Alabama’s House Bill 24 also allows adoption agencies to follow faith-based policies.
Cal will also allow its athletes to participate in any postseason play that takes place in those aforementioned states (bowl games in Texas or tournament games in North Carolina are still fully covered. All these games were scheduled prior to the enactment of AB1887, so Cal does not have to cancel any of those contests.
However, it’s unlikely Cal will be scheduling any further contests in these states unless these laws are stricken down as unconstitutional, most likely from the court systems.