There may be no better example of why the NCAA men’s basketball tournament holds a nation of 330 million people in its thrall for three weeks every year than Oral Roberts University. ORAL ROBERTS IS HEADED TO THE #Sweet16 FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1974 ‼️⁰⁰@ORUMBB | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/FRHoRROJv2 — NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 22, 2021On Saturday night, Oral Roberts will try to chop down yet another former national champion when they face third-seeded Arkansas in the South Regional semi-finals. But what should be the feelgood story of March Madness has been overshadowed in the run-up by Oral Roberts’ troubling history of homophobia, LGBTQ discrimination and alleged practice of conversion therapy. Except that Oral Roberts is one of a growing number of US colleges and universities to apply for and receive a religious exemption to Title IX that effectively sanctions its discrimination. The NCAA has "Equality" written on its courts and it is allowing at least one school (Oral Roberts) that explicitly prohibits homosexuality from participating in its tournaments.

Source: The Guardian March 26, 2021 16:31 UTC