Was moving 2017 All-Star Game the right move?
The NBA made the decision to move the scheduled 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte, N.C. over the controversial HB2 bill which limits anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the state of North Carolina.
The bill, called The Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, was signed into law earlier by North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory and requires transgender people to use bathrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificates.
The league has announced for a potential return of the All-Star game to Charlotte in 2019. No date has yet been announced for the 2017 site. Los Angeles is the scheduled host for the 2018 All-Star game.
Was the NBA right in mov--
ing the 2017 All-Star game to another city because of HB2? Sportswriters DJ Eberle and Stan Hudy FaceOff on the topic.
Stan Hudy says:
Throughout my life sports figures have been asked to take a stand on social issues that impact those that cheer for them in the stands and privately in the press box across the nation.
I am glad that the NBA took a stance against HB2 and what it stands for, but was it the correct way to deliver the message of disagreement and will it create any real change within the governor’s mansion or the state houses in North Carolina.
It was an easy-out for the NBA. They voted with their checkbooks, said ‘Shame on you’ and walked away. It is one of the best bargaining positions anyone can have, that walk away power, but the NBA shouldn’t have walked away, it was the easy way to address their disagreement with HB2.
The move of the 2017 AllStar game will only have an approval rating impact to Gov. McCrory that reaches beyond North Carolina, but many of those opinions do not have the right to vote in North Carolina.
For Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan, will he really feel the impact of not hosting the week-long event in February? A little.
Who will feel the impact of the NBA’s decision, everyone else in the arena, around the arena and in the Charlotte community?
According to the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority the scheduled NBA All-Star game would generate up to $100 million based on the $106.1 million generated in New Orleans and $60.4 million in direct spending associated with the 2014 All-Star game that included 1,350 jobs created. In 2012 Orlando is said to have gained an economic impact of $95.1 million and 2,250 jobs created.
Who loses? Every tourism employee in hotels, transportation services, civil servants who would be paid overtime, temporary workers brought in for the boost in tourism, along with the expanded staff within and around the Time Warner Cable Arena.
If the NBA was truly invested in making a change, not just a statement, the best way to create change is to be a part of something, make change from within, and not turn your back on the issue and the city along with its citizens.
This was an opportunity missed by the NBA, a chance to stand-up for the LGBT community and show the decision makers that they were wrong, that they support LGBT rights and are bigger than HB2.
The NBA had the opportunity to be in Charlotte and give the LGBT community a platform that would reach a worldwide audience.
The NBA, through its partnership with the WNBA hosts events each June during LGBT Pride Month, know how to send a message and still support the Charlotte community financially.
Introduce the #ProudToPlay YouTube campaign in February at the All-Star game as well as June, give the LGBT organizations a platform, allow sponsorship and deliver a message of support in a place where it has not been embraced yet.
Send a message that Charlotte is a great community, the NBA supports its ownership group and Michael Jordan and the Bobcats and that they are truly bigger than the poor decision made. Don’t make the easy decision to change location, cancel a few hotel rooms and flights almost a year in advance, make the tougher decision to stay and send the right message to the Charlotte LGBT community that the NBA is there for you.
DJ Eberle says:
Many of us use sports as a way to get away from the troubles in our everyday lives. Often this summer, we turn a Yankees or Mets game on at night after a long day of work to unwind. We go out to a local golf course, leave our phone in the car and play 18 holes, just us, some friends or family and nature.
However, in this case, the National Basketball Association had an opportunity to send a message off of the court, in the real world, and they did it. The NBA gave North Carolina an opportunity to revisit House Bill 2, but the state balked.
“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,” the NBA said in a statement. “We have been guided in these discussions by the longstanding 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 the NBA isn’t the
first to look at taking services out of the state — Paypal was set to bring in “hundreds of jobs,” according to TIME, and Bruce Springsteen and Cirque du Soleil have canceled shows in the state, but removal of the All-Star game could have some real repercussions. According to TIME, “One estimate put the economic impact of the AllStar Game alone at $100 million.” That’s a huge economical impact. The message the NBA sent should be loud and clear.
It’s a move that neither side wanted, but hopefully a lightbuld turned on for North Carolina lawmakers. For months the NBA had threatened to pull the game, and now that the Association proved it wasn’t joking, maybe actually progress can be made.
And unless, North Carolina makes some changes, other repercussions will be in the state’s future as well. The NCAA has already asked cities wishing to host championships to answer a questionnaire to better explain said city’s anti-discrimination laws and measures to ensure protection against refusal of services for customers. If the NBA can pull the All-Star Game from Charlotte, I’m sure the NCAA can pull some of its first and second round games out of Greensboro and into a neighboring state. Not to mention, the PGA has already pulled its future championship from North Carolina.
While many of us use sports as an escape, and often sports and politics don’t mix, there are times like these when they do it can be a good thing. Hopefully, the NBA’s decision to move the All-Star Game from Charlotte will get things rolling for lawmakers, and by the time 2019 rolls around, and Charlotte will have an opportunity to host again, the city will be able to host the week-long festivities.
Do you think the NBA should have moved the All-Star Game out of Charlotte? Let us know by dialing our Sports Sound-Off hotline: 518889-YELL(9355). Make sure to listen to our FaceOff podcast at www. saratogian.com and www. troyrecord.com or on any of your podcast apps.