All four head coaches of the Final Four teams in the Men's NCAA Tournament released a statement Wednesday, defending the NCAA's stance on Indiana's new religious freedom law.
"We are aware of the recent actions in Indiana and have made a point to talk about this sensitive and important issue among ourselves and with our teams. Each of us strongly supports the positions of the NCAA and our respective institutions on this matter — that discrimination of any kind should not be tolerated. As a part of America's higher education system, college basketball plays an important role in diversity, equality, fairness and inclusion, and will continue to do so in the future."
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The four coaches, Kentucky's John Calipari, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, Wisconsin's Bo Ryan and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, made the statement during a conference call. Their statement defends the one the NCAA released soon after the bill was signed.
NASCAR, the Big Ten, the NBA/Pacers/WNBA/Fever, and Colts owner Jim Irsay have all released similar statements. In addition, UConn coach Kevin Ollie says his staff won't attend the Final Four and USC athletic director Pat Haden said he won't attend the College Football Playoff committee meeting in Indiana.