The Southeastern Conference said Monday it is "attentive" to Georgia's controversial religious-liberty legislation and considers "numerous factors" in choosing sites for league championship events.
The SEC has played its football championship game in the Georgia Dome annually since 1994 and last fall signed a 10-year contract to shift the game to Atlanta’s new Mercedes-Benz Stadium when it opens in 2017.
Asked Monday whether the legislation, if signed into law by Gov. Nathan Deal, could impact playing the football title game here, the SEC provided a statement from conference commissioner Greg Sankey.
“Our conference championship events are an extension of our universities, which are places of diversity and opportunity,” Sankey said. “We are attentive to this legislative matter as we continue our policy of considering numerous factors in determining sites for our championship events.”
Also Monday, the College Football Playoff organization said that it “will keep an eye on” the legislation but that public- policy matters are best left to others.
“We deplore discrimination wherever it occurs and note that there is a public debate about this matter and its implications, as well as whether or not it will become law,” playoff executive director Bill Hancock said in a statement. “We will keep an eye on this, but our group’s focus is on sports, and public policy matters are better left to the experts and voters to resolve.”
The College Football Playoff, which is a separate organization from the NCAA, last year named Atlanta the site of the January 2018 national-championship game. In addition, Atlanta’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl is slated to host a playoff semifinal game this year.
On Friday, the NCAA, which previously awarded college basketball’s 2020 Final Four to Atlanta, said it will “monitor current events, which include issues surrounding diversity, in all cities bidding on NCAA championships and events, as well as cities that have already been named as future host sites.”
The Georgia legislation, if signed into law, jeopardizes Atlanta's bid to host a Super Bowl as soon as 2019, based on a statement Friday by the NFL.
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