West Ham’s American trip comes not without controversy
American fans of Premier League football, and of West Ham United, are excited to welcome the Hammers to America for the first time since 2008.
Unfortunately, West Ham’s decision to make North Carolina one of its two destinations among the 50 states puts the Hammers in the middle of one of the biggest political controversies currently gripping the United States.
And it has to do with…
Bathrooms.
Under state law in North Carolina, transgender individuals must use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender, as indicated on their birth certificate, not the gender they identify with, or even look like.
North Carolina House Bill 2, the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, is a reaction to the City Council of Charlotte, North Carolina’s largest city, deciding to allow transgender individuals to use public bathrooms based on their own gender identification.
For supporters of House Bill 2, the stated concern is to stop men from entering a women’s restroom for harmful reasons. For those opposed to the new law, it’s a new chapter in America’s Civil Rights battle, as U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch argued.
Musicians and bands such as Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and Ringo Starr have canceled upcoming concerts in North Carolina, citing opposition to HB2 as the reason. The National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) will not sanction sporting events in North Carolina until the law is reversed.
On April 27, the NCAA Board of Governors required any location bidding on an NCAA event must demonstrate that they “will provide an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination, plus safeguards the dignity of everyone involved in the event,” as reported by Andy Katz of ESPN.
Some, such as Winq publishing editor and West Ham fan Darren Styles, calls for the Hammers to cancel the match against the Carolina Railhawks, or at least postpone until the law is repealed.
As Styles wrote:
I’d like to think West Ham’s arrival in North Carolina is hapless and circumstantial, even if it is careless.[…] And, having met the Chairmen and owners of the club, Davids Sullivan and Gold, I’m as sure as I can be this is by accident rather than design. They are warm, genuine, open and canny. They care more for their brand (and the people around it, fans included) than to end up as unwitting patsies for a bitter North Carolina State Governor with too much time on his hands and poison between his ears.
Instead of cancelling, West Ham could follow Cyndi Lauper’s approach to the situation in North Carolina. Rather than disappointing the fans who have already purchased tickets for her upcoming show, the Tony Award-winning singer and songwriter has decided to go ahead with the show, with one special request:
“Well, let’s make it a rally, and on my rider I have to have a non-gender-specific bathroom, cause that’s on my rider,” Lauper said on Late Night with Seth Myers.
Also, Lauper announced on her website that she will donate all of the profits from her concert to Equality North Carolina’s efforts to repeal HB2. Mumford and Sons have also donated the profits from their April 14 show in North Carolina to charity, the band announced on Facebook.
Private businesses are able to use their own judgement and select a course of action relating to bathrooms, so the Carolina Railhawks would be able to set their own standard. Railhawks management has not replied to an email enquiry regarding their bathroom policy at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Already, the Hammers have had bad press in America. On their last visit to the United States in 2008, a brawl between West Ham and Columbus Crew fans made headlines, not the 3-1 West Ham victory.
Recently, it was not Winston Reid’s game-winning header in the final Boleyn Ground match that was shown on ESPN. It was the bottles thrown at the Manchester United bus before the 3-2 West Ham victory.
Now with the Hammers’ decision to play in North Carolina, West Ham have gotten themselves, inadvertently or not, in the middle of America’s latest culture war.
The club has to at least address the situation before the Hammer’s campaign to “grow our brand in a developing market” backfires.