Kentucky
‘Diversity isn’t always a good thing.’ Kentucky Senate advances limits on DEI programs
FRANKFORT – A bill aimed at limiting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and requiring First Amendment training at colleges and universities advanced in the Kentucky legislature Tuesday.
Senate Bill 6, which passed the chamber 26-7 after two hours of debate, would prohibit higher education institutions from requiring students and faculty to “describe the attitude or actions in support of or in opposition to specific ideologies or beliefs” to receive admission, employment, promotions or graduation. The bill also would require First Amendment training at student orientation.
Supporters said on the Senate floor that the bill is meant to protect free speech and promote “intellectual diversity.”
Sen. Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, the bill’s main sponsor, said that DEI policies prevent conservative voices from expressing their views on college campuses.
Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, added that “diversity isn’t always a good thing and being thrown way out of proportion.”
“If I’m being wheeled into the emergency room to have brain surgery … do I look around at the brain surgery team and say ‘woah, is there diversity on this team?’” Schickel said. “No, I want the best darn team in there with the most expertise.”
Conservative states have zoned in on diversity, equity and inclusion, also known as DEI policies, by stopping colleges and universities from using state and federal funds for these programs. Since 2021, 21 states have introduced legislation that would limit DEI programs on campus, according to an Axios analysis.
Meanwhile, supporters of DEI initiatives say that these programs help foster inclusivity and opportunities for underrepresented minorities.
The University of Kentucky and University of Louisville both have DEI offices and resources available for students and faculty.
Critics of the bill raised concerns Tuesday that the legislation could harm underrepresented students and result in unintended consequences.
Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, said she fears the bill will hurt faculty retention and recruitment because schools will have difficulty with navigating “vague concepts.”
Chambers Armstrong was referring to a list of “discriminatory concepts” in the bill that aren’t allowed to be included in any training for students or employees.
“I’m concerned about the message it sends to our faculty members and concerned about the way it will impact our ability to recruit and retain faculty members,” she said.
Sen. Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington, said the bill would hurt the progress Kentucky has made with attracting underrepresented minorities to its colleges and universities.
“My position is that we should not and never as a country move to a color-blind society,” Thomas said. “Instead, we should embrace all people of different clubs, different boards, different languages. … That is the richness of our diversity and differences.”
Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville, said SB 6 “isn’t a racial bill and meant to be divisive” and is instead supposed to stop discrimination in higher education.
According to poll results released Tuesday by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, the state’s voters believe that institutions and businesses should make their own decisions about DEI programs.
Of the 625 registered Kentucky voters polled, 71% believe that “businesses and institutions should make decisions about DEI education and programs without government interference.” Meanwhile, 26% answered that businesses and institutions should not, and 2% were unsure.
Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy conducted the poll between Jan. 30 and Feb. 4. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The bill ended up passing on a party-line vote and now heads to the House.
The Brooklyn Nets have developed their teams through a number of strategies over the decades, and their front office has put together considerable success through the NBA draft. Many of the franchise’s best players have joined the Nets either by being selected directly in the annual draft or through trades made on that day.
Moreover, it is not only the star players who have been acquired by the Nets through the draft. Several prominent alumni have been selected by the team each offseason during this annual event, with certain colleges being more prominently represented than others. An analysis of the players from different schools reveals that both prestigious programs and smaller institutions have contributed top talent to the Nets’ roster over the years.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at every player who has been drafted by the Nets out of Kentucky State University.
Gerald Cunningham – forward
Draft year and position: fifth round (first pick, 89th overall), 1977 NBA Draft
Seasons at Kentucky State University:
Seasons played with Nets: did not make the team
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
The best shooter in college basketball will, in fact, stay in college basketball — and Kentucky is ready to make its final push.
Iowa State star Milan Momcilovic has withdrawn from the 2026 NBA Draft and will play somewhere at his current level in 2026-27. That’s not expected to be back in Ames, as Cyclone coach T.J. Otzelberger made clear, saying that if the 6-8 forward doesn’t make the jump to the pros, “it’s important that he’s able to find a landing spot at a college that fits what he’s looking for.”
Could Lexington be that final destination? The perimeter sniper already said he’s got respect for the Wildcats and Mark Pope, watching his programs closely since his time at BYU when they competed against each other in the Big 12.
In his eyes, he could be the piece Kentucky was missing this past season in the program’s Round of 32 exit, led by Momcilovic’s 20 points and five rebounds in the Cyclones’ 82-63 victory in St. Louis.
“I think Kentucky would be a good fit,” Momcilovic told the Herald-Leader’s Ben Roberts last week at the NBA Draft Combine. “I obviously went against Pope at BYU his first year (in the Big 12), and I loved how his team played. I think we went 1-1 against them, but they killed us at their place, because they fly the ball up the court and shoot 3s. I really like the way they play.
“And obviously, Kentucky last year, he didn’t have enough shooters around him to really coach, I feel like, the way he wanted. But I think — if I were to choose Kentucky — that would be a good fit for me. I feel like I’d be a great player for him, and he’d be a good coach for me.”
Momcilovic averaged a career-high 16.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 30.5 minutes per game while shooting 50.6 percent from the field, 48.7 percent from three and 87.8 percent at the line. He knocked down 260 3-pointers, good for 3.7 makes on 7.5 attempts per contest.
The former four-star recruit has been Kentucky’s dream portal target all offseason. Now, he’s officially a free agent, pulling out of the draft ahead of the withdrawal deadline.
On Tuesday, head coach Mark Pope revealed that there will likely be no summer trip for the 2026-27 Wildcats.
“We’re probably a lean towards not going right now,” Pope told Darrell Bird of Cats Pause.
The NCAA recently adopted a proposal that will allow schools to take summer tours every year after the rules previously limited schools to one trip every four years. Even if it ended up being somewhere close by, this would’ve been a great experience for the Cats to get some exhibition games in, especially with the roster overhaul they’re going through.
Oh well. The good news is UK will still have plenty of summer practices to develop and build chemistry.
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