Texas and NFL Heading for Showdown Over 'Bathroom Bill'

Protestors try to drown out a press conference with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Senator Lois Kolkhorst as they introduce Senate Bill 6 known as the Texas Privacy Act. (Ralph Barrera/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Gotta hand it to the Left: they move their social agenda down the field like Tom Brady marching through Georgia. But this time, they may have met their match:

Texas’ next trip to the Super Bowl may hit a roadblock in Austin, where conservative lawmakers are pushing a bill to ban transgender people from the public bathrooms they feel most comfortable using.

“If a proposal that is discriminatory or inconsistent with our values were to become law (in Texas), that would certainly be a factor considered when thinking about awarding future events,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email response to a Chronicle question about the bill. It was the league’s first statement on the matter since the legislation was introduced in January.

“The NFL embraces inclusiveness,” McCarthy added. “We want all fans to feel welcomed at our events, and NFL policies prohibit discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other improper standard.”

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That would be “inclusiveness” of a tiny, tiny minority of mostly disturbed individuals who made up a noisy percentage of former president Barack Hussein Obama’s constituency. What about everybody else, who just want to take care of business in a sex-specific setting? Does the Left have to make everything a federal case?

Of course it does:

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick favors the proposal, formally the Texas Privacy Act, which would require transgender people to use public bathrooms based on their biological sex and not the gender of their choice. Placing it among his top priorities for passage this session, Patrick has called the measure essential to public safety and declared it one of the “conservative principles” that protect “Texas values.”

The fact that that’s a controversial statement tells you something about America today.

But many business leaders, progressive politicians and local and statewide tourism groups warn it would damage Texas’ reputation nationally and deter out-of-state organizers from picking Texas to host highly sought-after conventions, sporting championships and other public events.

Patrick has publicly called concerns over the bill overstated, noting that the NFL did not move Super Bowl LI out of Houston after voters failed in 2015 to pass the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, which among other things would have guaranteed trans-gender rights regarding bathroom facilities.

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If the NFL really wants to mix it up with Texas, bring it on. Exit question: why are lefties always yelling?

 

Follow me on Twitter @dkahanerules

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