Anti-LGBT law costs Charlotte NBA all-stars

• The NBA announced Thursday it would be moving the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte, N.C., due to the state’s anti-LGBT legislation.

“The NBA has decided to relocate the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte with the hope of rescheduling for 2019,” the league said in a statement.

“Since March, when North Carolina enacted HB2 and the issue of legal protections for the LGBT community in Charlotte became prominent, the NBA and the Charlotte Hornets have been working diligently to foster constructive dialogue and try to effect positive change. We have been guided in these discussions by the long-standing core values of our league. These include not only diversity, inclusion, fairness and respect for others but also the willingness to listen and consider opposing points of view.

“While we recognize that the NBA cannot choose the law in every city, state, and country in which we do business, we do not believe we can successfully host our All-Star festivities in Charlotte in the climate created by HB2.”

The league said no decision has been made over where the game will now be played.

The Vertical, which first reported the league was going to move the game, said it would likely be moved to New Orleans.

Ever since the state passed House Bill 2 back in March, a law which requires transgender individuals to use public restrooms that correspond with the sex listed on their birth certificates, the NBA has consistently applied pressure to the state to make changes. And after NBA commissioner Adam Silver expressed his disappointment with the state legislature’s decision last month to make only small changes to the bill, this seemed to be the only likely outcome.