By JOSH WHITE

The Atlantic Coast Conference is in the midst of holding its men’s basketball tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn this week. The move might seem strange for the Tobacco Road-centric league, but the league has good reason.

Besides a return to the ACC’s roots, the conference moved the event out of North Carolina as a result of House Bill 2.

HB2 is best-known for requiring visitors to schools and other government facilities to use the bathroom of the gender that appears on their birth certificates.

The ACC felt it was best to move the event out of North Carolina because of the complications politically.

I agree with the move and so do many of the head coaches and players.

First off, moving the event to a city/state that allows individuals to use the bathroom of their gender identity is right in my opinion. No one should be restricted.

Now basketball-wise, the move to a major city like Brooklyn/New York City that has so much going on builds excitement in the news media. Fans, not just of the ACC, but fans of college basketball are invested in the tournament because of its location. Located in the heart of nation’s news media capital now builds attention for the best conference in college basketball.

Lastly, many of the head coaches and players love it because it is in the mecca of basketball.

Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Jim Larrañaga praised the conference and thinks it should always be in Brooklyn because he feels that basketball was born in New York.

Syracuse’s veteran Head Coach Jim Boeheim agrees that the tournament should be held in New York or another major city because there is zero reason to hold it in Greensboro.

No matter which way you slice it up —politically, athletically, or news-media wise — the move out of Greensboro to a major city outside the state of North Carolina is a positive one.