Final Four coaches issue statement on controversial Indiana law

The coaches of the Final Four teams issued a joint statement about the Indiana Religious Freedom Act

The state of Indiana has come under heavy fire recently for passing the Indiana Religious Freedom Act, which many argue makes it legal to discriminate, particularly against gays and lesbians, under the guise of protecting religious beliefs.

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There has been a heavy backlash against the law, particularly on social media, and many prominent people and organizations have announced intentions to boycott the state until the law is repealed or changed.

The NCAA itself has also issued a statement the law, saying in part that it is “concerned about how this legislation could affect our student-athletes and employees.”

Indianapolis is also hosting the Final Four, and the Final Four coaches, Tom Izzo, Mike Kryszewski, Bo Ryan, and John Calipari, have issued a joint statement on the new law.

The statement reads as follows:

"“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.”"

Despite the continued insistence of Indiana lawmakers, including governor Mike Pence, that the law is not intended to discriminate against anyone, the state is catching some serious heat for this.

Here’s a sampling of some of the social media backlash from some sports and entertainment figures:

While it was probably too late to move the Final Four, the timing isn’t great for college basketball’s biggest event, which will now have to take place in a state under fire for passing a discriminatory law. There’s no telling how this controversy will affect the Final Four, but it’s probably safe to say that Kevin Ollie and his team won’t be the only ones protesting in one form or another.

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