Scott Gleeson, and Jeff Zillgitt

USA TODAY

LAS VEGAS — As Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski prepares to take the U.S. men's national basketball team to the Rio Olympics, his thoughts turned this week to his home of North Carolina and the controversial anti-LGBT law that was passed in March.

“It’s an embarrassing bill,” Krzyzewski told USA TODAY Sports. “That’s all I’m going to say about it.”

Krzyzewski spoke out less than a week after the Blue Devils released their schedule for the coming season and it was revealed Albany will not be traveling to Durham as planned to play on Nov. 12 as part of the Hall of Fame tournament. The change is the result of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order banning publicly funded, non-essential travel to North Carolina as result of House Bill 2.

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“Albany not playing Duke, that’s the kind of activism we need to create change with this bill,” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride, a Charlotte-based organization fighting for LGBT rights. “The NCAA talks a lot about inclusion and diversity but just waffles through statements without any actions.”

The NCAA changed its policy for championship events in April by implementing an anti-discrimination process for host bids but hasn’t specified its definition of “inclusive environments” and the state of North Carolina is still slated to host NCAA events for the next few years.

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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said he plans to move the 2017 All-Star game out of Charlotte, which would cost the city an estimated $100 million, should HB2 not be rescinded.

North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said he was “appalled” by the bill and is embarrassed when he goes on recruiting visits and parents ask about it.

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

Other coaches throughout the state have expressed their disappointment with the bill, including North Carolina's Roy Williams and Elon's Matt Matheny, who grew up in North Carolina and has coached there since the early 1990s, previously serving at Davidson as an assistant.

“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.”

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Former North Carolina women’s tennis player Ashley Dai, an open lesbian, said that a statement by a university or athletic department is not enough.

“I understand that everyone isn’t an activist or that’s not their personality, but doing nothing or deferring to someone else when you’re a big name is actually saying something,” Dai said. “It's saying that we’re not trying to make a big deal about it. When you’re the group being discriminated against, the (high-profile) allies are who matter most.”