ACC moves golf championships from N. Carolina in response to House Bill 2

The University of Virginia won the 2016 ACC women's golf championship. — The University of Virginia won the 2016 ACC women’s golf championship.

Days after the NCAA announced it would remove seven of its championships from the state of North Carolina in response to the state’s so-dubbed “Bathroom Bill,” the Atlantic Coast Conference followed suit in removing all neutral-site championship games from the state for the season.

This includes the men’s and women’s golf championships for the 2016-17 season.

The bill, officially known as the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, was passed in March in a special session of the North Carolina legislature. The law bans municipalities from enacting and enforcing anti-discriminatory laws on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, and it also requires people to use public bathrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificate.

“As members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the ACC Council of Presidents reaffirmed our collective commitment to uphold the values of equality, diversity, inclusion and non-discrimination,” the ACC Council of Presidents released in a statement. “Every one of our 15 universities is strongly committed to these values and therefore, we will continue to host ACC championships at campus sites (Duke, Wake Forest, the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State).

“We believe North Carolina House Bill 2 is inconsistent with these values, and as a result, we will relocate all neutral site championships for the 2016-17 academic year. All locations will be announced in the future from the conference office.”

The 2017 ACC Men’s Golf Championship was originally scheduled to be played at Old North State Club in New London, while the ACC Women’s Golf Championship was to be held at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, both April 21-23. The new sites have yet to be announced.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

Follow @RyanBallengee

LISTEN TO OUR WEEKLY GOLF PODCAST! This week: Assessing the 2016 Ryder Cup teams

Devil Ball Golf – Golf – Yahoo Sports