Abbott to NFL: Worry About Your Own Problems, Not Our Bathroom Bill

The National Football League has enough problems of its own without worrying about Texas' bathroom law, Gov. Greg Abbott insisted Thursday.

"The NFL coddled its players who refused to stand for the National Anthem," Abbott told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" anchor Bill Hemmer. "The NFL has its own problems with regard to people, such as violence against women. The NFL has its own problems to solve. The last thing the NFL needs to do is get in the business of telling states how to operate their own political operations."

Last week, league spokesman Brian McCarthy commented if a state has a law that is "discriminatory or inconsistent with our values" that could "certainly be a factor considered when thinking about awarding future events" like the Super Bowl.

Sites have been picked for Super Bowl games through 2021, with none picked in Texas. This year's game was played in Houston, marking the third in the state since 2004.

The proposed bill, which would require people to use bathrooms matching the gender on their birth certificates, also has the support of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

"What happened last week on Friday a low-level person with the NFL came out with a harsh statement basically saying Texas, the state of Texas better come to heel and comply with the standards of the NFL, or they may not be allowed to have a Super Bowl in the future," Abbott said Thursday. "What that amounted to was the old saying of someone who lives in a glass house throwing stones."

Such boycotts could work both ways, Abbott warned.

"Imagine this: If the NFL tries to come down on the state of Texas, I might just pass a bill in the state of Texas mandating that all NFL players have to stand and put their hand on their heart when the National Anthem is played," Abbott said.

"If the NFL really wants to solve this problem about bathrooms for people who are transgenders, the NFL should impose on all its teams to put their own bathrooms into their stadiums to accommodate it instead of trying to dictate to states," Abbott said.

Texas' proposed bill is "completely different" from North Carolina's bathroom bill, and "all I'm trying to say is the NFL has no business whatsoever trying to get into the politics of various states. The NFL has its own problems that it must fix."

• States Stand in Line to Enact Anti-Transgender Bathroom Bills
• Repeal of North Carolina LGBT Law Fails in Bitter Divide