Coach K, others speak out against North Carolina's HB2 law

Mike Krzyzewski does not believe in North Carolina's HB2 law, not one bit.

The legendary Duke head coach spoke to Scott Gleeson of USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday to express his displeasure with the state's controversial regulation that passed March 23.

"It's an embarrassing bill," Krzyzewski said. "That's all I'm going to say about it."

Duke has felt the ramifications of the state passing HB2, after a non-conference game with Albany was canceled because of an executive order put in place by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that bans all state-sponsored, non-essential travel to North Carolina.

Coach K is not the only coach in the state who offered backlash regarding HB2. NC State head coach Mark Gottfried said he was "appalled" when the bill passed and that he is embarrassed to discuss it while on recruiting visits.

"I'm against any law that allows discrimination, whether that's based on race, gender, sexual orientation," Gottfried said. "I don't understand how someone can support this. I think the people at NC State, we believe in inclusion. Being a resident of the state, for me and my family, it's been frustrating."

Other head coaches, including North Carolina's Roy Williams and Elon's Matt Matheny, have voiced their displeasure with the bill. Matheny called for coaches around the country to use their position to reinforce positivity despite the bill.

"What I love about coaching is that I can sit down with players of different backgrounds," Matheny said. "It's important to expose players to what's going on outside the basketball court. It's important that they're aware of issues that our state and our country faces. As coaches, we're the leaders. It's important that we as coaches at programs - big or small - use our platform to promote a positive message."