Texas Governor Greg Abbott mocked the National Football League after they threatened to revoke the state’s Super Bowl hosting privileges.
On Friday, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said hosting a future event in the Lone Star State could hinge on whether certain bathroom laws are in effect.
“If a proposal that is discriminatory or inconsistent with our values were to become law there, that would certainly be a factor considered when thinking about awarding future events,” McCarthy wrote in an email obtained by CBS.
The NFL is taking issue with an upcoming bathroom bill, S.B. No. 6, which would require Texans to use lavatories that correspond with the gender indicated on their birth certificate.
The outspoken conservative governor hit back at NFL officials, highlighting their decision to bench New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady at the start of the season, only to have him come back and win Super Bowl LI.
NFL decision makers also benched Tom Brady last season. It ended with NFL handing the Super Bowl trophy to Brady. https://t.co/Qg06jT9RDp
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) February 11, 2017
“NFL decision makers also benched Tom Brady last season. It ended with NFL handing the Super Bowl trophy to Brady,” Abbott shot back on Twitter Saturday.
CBS reports, “The NFL has selected future Super Bowl sites through 2021, none of which are in Texas. Dallas hosted the game in 2011 and three Super Bowls have been played in Texas since 2004, which is second only to Florida.”
The governor’s defiant response is a departure from previous state lawmakers’ actions, such as Georgia Governor Nathan Deal who overturned a “religious liberty” bill in the state in 2015 after the NFL threatened to pass them over as a future super bowl host.
The league’s latest threat follows Super Bowl LI which was hosted in Houston, Texas.
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