49ers CEO pledges money to support repeal of transgender law

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York pledged $75,000 to the Equality North Carolina Foundation, an organization which is backing a repeal of a law he believes discriminates.

York made the pledge through the team while attending the NFL owners meetings Tuesday in Charlotte.

The new law limits LGBT nondiscrimination protections statewide and forces transgender people to use public restrooms and locker rooms aligned with their biological sex instead of the gender they identify with.

York said he has a friend that is connected with the LGBT community in Charlotte, and "If we are having a meeting here, I wanted to do something."

He added that there are a lot of things that are misconstrued about the law, saying there is a "fear mongering campaign" when it comes to transgender people using public bathrooms.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is opposed to discrimination "in any form."

"It is very important to us to have diversity," Goodell said. "We made that clear publicly. We made that clear in other situations. We made that clear a long time ago. The city of Charlotte has continued to fight this issue."

Goodell pointed out the NFC champion Panthers play in Charlotte and that "we want to work with the community. We're not going to threaten the community. We're going to work with the community to make the effective changes that are necessary long-term."

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