Stony Brook, New York’s public university, has cancelled its three-game visit with Hattiesburg, scheduled for February 23-25, due to New York’s ban on state-level travel to Mississippi or North Carolina. This story was first reported by The Sun Herald, Biloxi. Scott Berry, USM’s coach, said that politics had entered college baseball. It is a terrible thing for our fans. Their home games are a favorite of their fans. We did everything possible to play at home. Stephen F. Austin allowed us to play in their tournament. House Bill 1523 was approved by the 2016 Legislature. It allows government and business workers to refuse services due to sincerely held religious beliefs. These three beliefs are protected by the law: That marriage must be between a man or woman and that sex can only occur in such a marriage; that a person’s birth gender cannot be changed and that only one man may marry another. The U.S. Supreme Court has received an appeal to the controversial law, but has yet to indicate whether it will accept the appeal. Jon Gilbert, the USM athletic director, said that it is impossible to estimate how much losing the home series will affect financial results. Weather could affect attendance and revenue. USM would have made money in Pete Taylor Park, and it will be expensive to make the 400-mile journey to Nagodoches (Texas). Gilbert stated that they tried hard to replace it with a home series. “We couldn’t find a Division 1 team with the dates we had available. After talking with people from the NCAA baseball committee, it was decided not to play lower division teams. They said that wins over lower division teams wouldn’t count, and losing even one game would seriously hurt our post-season prospects.” Stony Brook, one the most consistent northeastern programs in baseball, was originally scheduled to play in Hattiesburg in 2014. However, a severe snowstorm in New York prevented them from traveling to Mississippi. The schools were willing to reschedule the date for a later date. It turned out that it was 2018 until it didn’t. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, banned all non-essential travel to Mississippi on April 5, 2016. This was the day Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed HB1523 into law. The ban was apparently not known by Stony Brook’s athletic officials when they agreed to 2018 dates last year. USM loses not only a home series, but also a top-quality opponent. Stony Brook beat LSU in a NCAA Super Regional in Baton Rouge in 2012 and became the first American East Conference team to participate in the College World Series. Berry stated, “They are a high-quality program for sure.” Berry said, “They are a quality program for sure.” USM will open the 2018 season with a three game home series against Mississippi State on February 16-18.