Posted 06/27/17, 4:46 PM

A California law has been prompting questions in the social, political, and college sports fields recently. AB-1887, commonly referred to as the Californian "travel ban," is raising eyebrows and sparking much discussion.

In short, AB-1887 was created in response to certain states, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee enacting religious freedom laws that California law makers see as a way to allow discrimination against the LGBT community.

The law prohibits public funding for non-necessary travel to certain states and also says that the state cannot require public employees to travel to states that are banned:

But just last Thursday, California added Texas, Alabama, Kentucky, and South Dakota to the list of banned states. This has caused some to question whether college athletic teams would be unable to attend athletic competitions that happen to be held in some of the banned states.

There is an exception in AB-1887 that allows for travel and funding for "contractual obligations" that have been made before 2017. This might allow a loophole for college football, at least, as their game contracts are decided long in advance and not attending might be cause for huge lawsuits. However, it seems that games that have not been decided, such as playoffs and bowl games, will not fall under this exception.

On the surface, the problems seem to get bigger. The 2018 Final Four games are set to be held in San Antonio, Texas. Further, even more states could be added to the ban list. Oklahoma, for instance, is considering  the Oklahoma Right of Conscience Act, or SB 197. The bill would allow for business owners to object to providing services for “a marriage ceremony or celebration of a specific lifestyle or behavior.” Currently, SB 197 has not been voted on, but has been recommended to be passed by the senate committee. If passed, it would appear Oklahoma would be put on the banned list as well. Oklahoma is also home to the Women's College World Series, the NCAA softball national championship.

Would this pose a problem for softball teams in California? UCLA's team reached the Women's College World Series this year and in 2016, which is held in Oklahoma City. UCLA Softball also played a game in College Station, Texas, in 2016.

Maybe. Maybe not.

"The UCLA Department of Intercollegiate Athletics does not use state funding for travel," Liza David, assistant athletic director said in an email to AM News Net regarding the subject.

UCLA explained they are "fully committed to promoting and protecting equity, diversity and inclusion" and are currently reviewing statements from California's attorney general. UCLA would not comment about Oklahoma specifically in regards to possibly being put on the ban list, though it seems unlikely players would be affected if state funds are not utilized.

"We are not going to speak about Oklahoma specifically, but we are generally not going to deny our student-athletes the opportunity to compete in the postseason," David said.

UC Berkeley released a similar statement.

"Barring any unanticipated circumstances, our intent is to support our student-athletes in their right to participate in NCAA postseason competition should they be assigned to a restricted state as designated by the Attorney General under AB-1887," the statement says.

Further, Stanford, a private university which sent its women's basketball team to the Women's Final Four in Dallas, Texas this year, would be unaffected as well.

While funding may not be an issue, or at least as big of an issue as some feared, there has also been talk that coaches cannot go and recruit.

"In terms of recruiting, under current California law our coaches would be restricted from using state funds to travel to affected states," Cal Athletics said in a statement.

This was hardly the beginning of controversy over state laws and college athletics, and there may be no end in sight. The NCAA moved seven championship events out of North Carolina this academic year because of the HB2 law, otherwise known as "the Bathroom Bill," requiring people to use the bathroom corresponding with their biological gender.

So, while the realms of social politics and college athletics mix, perhaps all one can do is have an open eye and watch what happens.

More college sports coverage can be found here.

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