RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Four athletes from North Carolina's Atlantic Coast Conference schools have written a letter urging state lawmakers to repeal a law that limits the protections of LGBT people.

The letter was signed by North Carolina fencer Ezra Baeli-Wang, Duke football player Chris Taylor, North Carolina State diver Gabi McDermott and Wake Forest men's golfer Tanner Owen. They're members of the ACC's student-athlete advisory committee.

North Carolina lost 17 NCAA and ACC events during the current academic year because of the law. Scott Dupree, executive director of the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, has said the state could miss out on hosting NCAA championships until 2022 without a repeal.

The student-athletes compared that timeline to a sporting event, calling it ''the fourth quarter, and the clock is winding down.''