The National Football League has begun exploring its option for moving next year’s Super Bowl out of Arizona if the anti-gay bill sitting on Gov. Jan Brewer’s desk becomes law, according to Sports Illustrated.
The magazine cited “a source close to the situation.” Tampa Bay, the runner-up to host Super Bowl XLIX, would likely be the first replacement option.
“No one wants to do this, but if the league’s hand is forced, it would have to begin preparing for that process,” the source close to the situation told SI. “If this doesn’t get vetoed, it has to know, what has to be done next? That discussion has begun.”
The NFL has said publicly that it is “following the issue” and Arizona’s Super Bowl committee has urged Brewer to veto the bill. Arizona already lost a Super Bowl in 1993 over its refusal to recognize Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a public holiday.
