An alum from SUNY Geneseo, an NCAA Division III school, resorted to setting up a crowdfunding campaign for the team’s impending trip to the 2019 NCAA Division III Championships later this month to get around New York governor Andrew Cuomo‘s Executive Order 155, the team posted on Facebook Tuesday.
The meet takes place March 20th-24th in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Executive Order 155, signed in March 2016, prohibits non-essential state-funded or state-sponsored travel to North Carolina in light of its policies barring transgendered people from using the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity. The order requires all New York State agencies, departments, boards and commissions to “immediately review all requests for state funded or state sponsored travel to the state of North Carolina, and bar any such publicly funded travel that is not essential to the enforcement of state law or public health and safety,” per NY.gov.
The SUNY Athletic Conference champion Knights qualified 10 athletes to the meet and shared a GoFundMe page created by a program alum aiming for $4,000 in donations for travel. They met that goal in 11 hours, with total donations reaching $4,721 from 62 different donors at publishing. The page explains the situation:
“Unfortunately, they are being pressed with a very difficult situation- Governor Cuomo’s ban on state travel to North Carolina. With this ban in place, these student athletes are being told they need to fly in and out of Virginia, and stay in VA, over an hour commute to the championship facility; which is not conducive to these student athletes performing to their peak ability, for which they have worked so hard for the entire season.
These athletes are trying to represent the SUNY institution in a positive light at a competition where they had no part in deciding where the location would be. They are New York State tax paying, voting, SUNY tuition paying individuals that will have the hard work they have put in all year negatively impacted because of the Governor’s decision.
This fundraiser is to secure the necessary funds to allow these athletes to stay within a reasonable distance to the championship venue which would give them the best opportunity to compete on the national level and represent SUNY Geneseo to the upmost level possible.
Please consider supporting these phenomenal student athletes at a once in a lifetime competition by March 14th so they may secure better housing!”
It adds that any excess funds will go directly to the team.
SUNY Cortland also qualified a single athlete for the meet. That athlete will fly into Roanoke, Virginia, and stay at a hotel in Danville and commute to the meet, the school told SwimSwam.
Correction: This article initially stated that SUNY Geneseo set up the crowdfunding campaign, but it was, in fact, a program alum.
I am put off a bit by the tone and words of Torrey Hart’s article. Semantics, perhaps, but the way some of this was said seemed quite biased to me. As a resident and taxpayer in New York State (for now), this another impotent Executive Order by a tyrannical governor that doesn’t do anything to change the situation and policies of North Carolina. If the athletes don’t go to North Carolina, who does that really hurt? Who is punished? The state’s money isn’t going to be spent in NC, so they’ve complied. The swimming community came together and helped them quickly. This is very positive and should be a good story.
I’m sorry, but if you are put off by the tone and words of this article, then I think maybe you came here looking to be put off. I can’t imagine any way to make Torrey’s “tone” more neutral. If you’re referring to the block quote, that’s not something Torrey has written, it’s a direct quote from the GoFundMe page.
This has got to be one of the most ridiculous situations ever
Remember this is the same guy that thinks killing babies is acceptable and even lite up the WTC when billed was passed
According to Greensboro Acquatic Center pool policy
“For the comfort and inclusion of all individuals, the Greensboro Aquatic Center offers women’s, men’s and family/gender neutral dressing rooms. In addition, the GAC also offers women’s, men’s and family/gender neutral public restroom facilities.” This has also been my personal experience of neutral options when I have attended events there. I wish this wasn’t a politicized issue. I’m glad SUNY got crowd funded to participate.
Leaving politics out of this, I’m wondering how this is an acceptable work-around.
They’ve received donations. If it goes through their official fundraising account, wouldn’t that still be state money? If it goes to an individual that then pays for their hotel rooms, wouldn’t that be an NCAA impermissable benefit?
Money aside, if they show up in North Carolina and compete representing a SUNY school, isn’t that still “state-sponsored travel?”
Is this the first time this has been put to the test or have their been other SUNY sports before?
In most cases, the fundraising accounts (Booster accounts) are considered private. That’s why we don’t know exactly how much all college coaches make – some of them are paid supplemental salaries out of booster accounts (even in swimming).
Imagine that, NC wants boys to use the little boys room and girls to use the ladies room. The audacity!