GREENSBORO, N.C. — A ban on New York state-funded travel to North Carolina is complicating matters for state college swimmers heading south for an NCAA championship meet.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order in 2016 banning non-essential state-funded travel to North Carolina after lawmakers there voided a Charlotte ordinance that would have enabled transgender people to legally use restrooms aligned with their gender identity. House Bill 2 is also known as the 'bathroom bill.'
RELATED: 'Bathroom Bill' Fallout: NC to Lose Netflix Show About Outer Banks
13 swimmers and divers from State University of New York (SUNY) schools who qualified for the Division III championship later this month will not be able to stay in North Carolina hotel rooms. The athletes will have to stay in neighboring Virginia, more than an hour away from the competition.
State lawmakers say swimmers at state colleges in Geneseo, Brockport and Cortland are affected.
WFMY News 2 reached out to SUNY Geneseo. The school responded with the following statement:
"The members of SUNY Geneseo’s swimming and diving team are fierce competitors and while the logistics of attending the meet will be challenging, the College supports the Executive Order that protects the rights of the transgender community. We have every expectation that with the perseverance and grit our team has demonstrated all season, our student-athletes will do well in the NCAA DIII national championship."
SUNY Geneseo does not yet know where the team members will be staying in Virginia, saying plans are being 'finalized.'
Several swim team supporters and lawmakers spoke out on Thursday, hoping Governor Cuomo would make an exception to the travel ban for these athletes, but he's not budging.
"These athletes did not have any part in the NCAA choosing North Carolina but are now being negatively impacted on their accomplishments because of it," one SUNY alumnus said.
"This is really an issue of putting the politics aside, doing the right thing, changing or rescinding the Executive Order to allow these students to go to North Carolina and represent New York State," one lawmaker said at the press conference.
The NCAA championship meet will be held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center March 20-23.
