Charlotte loses All-Star game for anti-gay law
The NBA is moving the 2017 All-Star game out of Charlotte because of its objections to a North Carolina law that limits anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay and transgender people.
The league had expressed its opposition to the law known as House Bill 2 since it was enacted in March, and its decision Thursday came less than a month after state legislators revisited the law and chose to leave it largely unchanged.
“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 AllStar festivities in Charlotte in the climate created by HB2,” the league said in a statement.
The league added that it hoped to announce a new location for next February’s events shortly. It hopes to reschedule the 2019 game for Charlotte if there is a resolution to the matter.
“We understand the NBA’s decision and the challenges around holding the NBA All-Star game in Charlotte this season. There was an exhaustive effort from all parties to keep the event in Charlotte, and we are disappointed we were unable to do so,” Hornets chairman and Hall of Famer Michael Jordan said. “With that said, we are pleased that the NBA opened the door for Charlotte to host All-Star weekend again as soon as an opportunity was available in 2019.”
Warriors star Stephen Curry, a Charlotte native, said he was disappointed that his hometown won’t be hosting the game, but he understood the league’s position.
“From a guy that’s grown up in Charlotte and that is basically my hometown, it’s disappointing for the city not to be able to celebrate the game of basketball as they had planned,” Curry said from Lake Tahoe, where he is playing in the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament this weekend. “I obviously understand (commissioner) Adam Silver’s decision.”
The league’s decision was first reported by the Vertical.
Silver wanted to wait as long as possible to make one, believing positive dialogue could lead to changes it felt the law needed. But he also said a decision would need to be made this summer, and the league was disappointed when the General Assembly restored the ability of workers to use state law to sue over employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion and other factors — but left gender identity and sexual orientation unprotected.
There was no appetite among Republican lawmakers to change the provision requiring transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates in many public buildings — a measure at the heart of two legal challenges in federal court.
The law passed in a March special session also excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from anti-discrimination protections related to the workplace, hotels and restaurants; and overrules local anti-discrimination ordinances. Republican leaders have said the law was passed in response to a Charlotte ordinance that would have allowed transgender people to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity.
The fate of the state law is likely to be decided in federal courts where dueling lawsuits are being heard, with a judge saying he wants to start trial in four of the five cases by early November. He’s also set an August 1 hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction to block the law’s bathroom access provision.
Charlotte officials have said they expected the event to have an economic impact of about $100 million, based on data from recent All-Star Games in the comparable New Orleans and Orlando markets. The game could rival the $164 million economic impact of the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, the largest financial bump of any event for the city.
Several NBA cities could be in line to host the game, including New Orleans — which has hosted the league’s midseason showcase twice, in 2008 and 2014.