Is Indiana religious freedom law 'fix' enough?

— -- TAMPA, Fla. - Beth Bass spent 13 years as the executive director of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Yet this weekend, she finds herself in Indianapolis on men's Final Four weekend -- on the receiving end of a lot of Hoosier hospitality.

"People are giving out t-shirts that say 'Indy Welcomes Everyone,'" Bass said. "All the local television stations and papers are saying, 'Everyone is welcome here.' There's a lot of positive propaganda."

It has been 11 days since Indiana Governor Mike Pence originally signed Senate Bill 101, dubbed the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act," and a national firestorm ensued, with corporations, public officials and entertainers all threatening to boycott the state. From the sports world, one of the first to speak out against the law was NCAA President Mark Emmert, a powerful statement many viewed as a catalyst for the outcry that followed.

Since then, Bass said, "There has been a great market correction."

On Thursday, under enormous political pressure to "clarify" the legislation, Governor Pence signed an amendment that bars discrimination, prohibiting social service providers from using the law as a legal defense for refusing service to gays and lesbians. It did not, however, provide the blanket civil-rights protections that opponents to the bill seek.

The question now is, will this "fix" be enough for the NCAA? Enough to keep the organization from moving next year's Women's Final Four out of Indianapolis? Enough, ultimately, to keep the NCAA from reconsidering whether Indianapolis is the best place for its headquarters?

On Thursday, after Pence signed the amendment, Emmert said he was "pleased" by the change, but said the NCAA would monitor the bill's rollout, and would continue to push for the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity as "protected classes" under existing state law.

In the wake of the amendment's passage, Anucha Browne, the NCAA's vice president of the Women's Basketball Championship, indicated that plans for next year's Women's Final Four in Indianapolis may be on more solid ground than they were a few days ago.

"We will talk about it as a committee," Browne said. "We will continue to vet it. At the end of the day, if Dr. (Mark) Emmert feels this satisfied the need that our student athletes are playing in a truly inclusive environment, then we should be OK. But all that remains to be seen."

Browne added that the NCAA's interest is making sure that the home state of the NCAA "continues to maintain a type of environment that is focused on inclusion."

Hudson Taylor, founder of the advocacy group Athlete Ally, said the clarification of the RFRA law is a "welcome step in the right direction." But Taylor wants more.

"LGBT people do not have explicit protections in Indiana," he said. "There are major ways in which they are not being treated equally in the Hoosier state."

Taylor, a former college wrestler, founded Athlete Ally as a non-profit organization whose charge is to "provide public awareness campaigns, educational programming and tolls and resources to foster inclusive sports communities." Taylor held a press conference Saturday in Indianapolis, speaking out against the original legislation, which he notes is also being contemplated in a number of other states. "They all need to know that the sports world is watching and that we will be vocal supporters of the LGBT community," Taylor said.

Recently retired Indiana Fever coach Lin Dunn has spent more than 20 years of her life in the Hoosier state, between her time coaching at Purdue and for the WNBA's Indiana Fever.

"I was happy to see everybody take a stand and say that this is not what Indiana or Indianapolis represent," said Dunn, who now works as a consultant to the Fever. "But have they come up with something just to appease people? Is this is a band-aid or a real fix? I don't know yet. I don't know if it's going to fly long-term."

Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw, who has lived and coached in Indiana for the past 27 years, said she was proud that Emmert led the charge against the legislation from the start. "It was great to see the NCAA step out there and be the first one," McGraw said.

McGraw also said she was cautiously optimistic that state officials did the right thing by amending the legislation.

"But I don't think we are going to know that for sure until we see how it all plays out," she said. "I think it's a topic we are going to have to consider, are we going (to Indianapolis) or not? I think it's still on the table."

The Women's Basketball Coaches Association, which holds its annual convention in the Final Four city every year during the same weekend, said in a statement that it is "monitoring the political developments in Indiana."

"We will remain in constant contact with our partners at the NCAA as we plan for the 2016 WBCA Convention," said WBCA executive director Danielle Donehew.

Bass said she "can't imagine" the Women's Final Four will be moved now. "I think the amendment has eased the angst," Bass said. "I know some folks think it has not gone far enough, but that's political. I think in our world, it has."

Taylor, however, hopes for an even stronger statement from the NCAA, something that brings together "principles and practice."

"I think it would be amazing if the Women's Final Four was moved. It would show the bold leadership that's needed on this issue," Taylor said. "These types of things need to happen to show other states and other cities that these issues will be looked at."

At the very least, Taylor said he would like to see the NCAA include criteria for policies around inclusion become part of the vetting process for host sites. This year's Final Four site, in Florida, also has a "religious freedom" bill in place with no specific protections against LGBT people.

"It's important how we talk about respect and inclusion and equality, and that we look at places where we are awarding championships," Taylor said. "Sometimes those places aren't upholding the same values that we are."

Dunn said the whole sequence of events has left her feeling optimistic.

"People took the opportunity to take a stand. They spoke up instead of staying silent," she said. "Maybe something good will come out of something that, in my mind, started out bad."

Dunn also said she trusts the NCAA's judgment on what happens next.

"The NCAA won't allow it to happen if people don't think it's appropriate," Dunn said. "I'm trusting the NCAA to evaluate the information they have, whether it can represent the student athletes, and all the people coming from out-of-state and into our town. The NCAA is the leader in this situation, and I'm counting on them to do what's right."