Longtime sportswriter and author John Feinstein is stamping his foot in the ground against the NCAA over gun laws in the state of Texas. In an article for the Washington Post titled “The NCAA wouldn’t take a stand with the Final Four, so I will” Feinstein lambasted the NCAA for its refusal to adhere to his column from a few months ago, titled: “Texas shouldn’t host the NCAA’s Final Fours until it fixes its gun laws.”
In that article, Feinstein published strong feelings about Texas being unfit to host NCAA events, writing: “If the NCAA had any moral standards, it would move next year’s men’s and women’s Final Fours out of Texas. It would move all of its other championships from the state, too. And it would vow not to return until Texas reforms its gun laws.”
Harsh sentiments there from Feinstein over the lack of gun laws in Texas. Obviously, the NCAA ignored those pleas when he initially made a racket over the Texas state gun laws last June — since the Final Four games are already taking place in their respective Texan locations.
Feinstein follows through on threat
Normally, Feinstein attends the Final Four, and he noted in The Post that he’s been to 39 but will skip No. 40 out of sheer principle over these gun laws. He’s hung up on the Uvalde shooting. Nine days after that tragic event occurred last May, Feinstein banged his gavel begging the NCAA to be the ones to step in and take a stand against the big bad state of Texas.
Alas, he predicted then that the NCAA would take no such action, and thus, John Feinstein will miss a Final Four that has him very excited. Instead, he’ll watch from home on a television screen rather than witnessing the magic happen live. For Feinstein, that’s just the tax of his cause. If you’re going to threaten to do something as bold as skip the Final Four, you have to come through on your word, and Feinstein did, so credit him for that.
As for what he ultimately accomplished? Who knows if his little rebellion makes any difference to the NCAA. Let’s be honest: we know the NCAA arranges and takes bids on Final Four locations years and almost a decade in advance. They weren’t throwing off all those plans because a beloved sports author refuses to attend one year due to gun laws.
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