25 LGBT groups have sent letters to the Big 12 in hopes that they will not admit BYU over what they feel are discriminatory actions.
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With the Big 12 exploring the possibility of expansion, it has opened the doors for schools from non-power conferences to join the Big 12 and get the exposure that comes with playing football in a major conference.
The first conclusion that people are jumping to is that the conference could potentially look at programs that are in the geographical area that would make sense for the program. One of those programs could potentially be BYU.
However, there is a growing number of people that do not want the Big 12 to admit BYU into the conference. According to Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports, 25 LGBT groups have sent letters to the conference in hopes that they will not admit the religious school to the conference over what they perceive as discriminatory actions.
One of the letters sent to commissioner Bob Bowlsby goes into a little bit of detail:
"“BYU … actively and openly discriminates against its LGBT students and staff. It provides no protections for LGBT students … Given BYU’s homophobic, biphobic and transphobic policies and practices, BYU should not be rewarded with Big 12 membership.”"
The letters come from national advocacy groups as well, which shows that there is serious weight behind the movement. As Mandel notes in his article, BYU has an honor code and in that code, being in a homosexual relationship is a violation.
Those athletes that are in violation of the code can be suspended or dismissed from the program. Therefore, if the Big 12 does indeed try to add BYU, this could prove to be a real point of contention going forward.
With the way professional sports have taken a stand against discrimination, the NCAA is likely to follow the same roads. While public universities would be prohibited from such standards, BYU is a private institution.
Given the nature, it’s hard to see them joining the conference.
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