NBA To Pull All-Star Game Out Of Charlotte
Welp. The scoop on the hardwood is the NBA is planning to pull the 2017 All-Star weekend out of Charlotte due to their anti-LGBT bill.
Last week, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters at the league’s board of governor’s meeting in Las Vegas, “We were frankly hoping that they would make some steps toward modifying the legislation, and frankly I was disappointed that they didn’t.”
Via USA Today:
The law, which was passed by the state’s general assembly during a special session in March, bans local municipalities from enacting non-discriminatory ordinances designed to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Three months ago at the Associated Press Sports Editors meeting, Silver said, “We’ve been, I think, crystal clear a change in the law is necessary for us to play in the kind of environment that we think is appropriate for a celebratory NBA event.”
Silver, citing the league’s core principles of diversity and inclusion, had said moving the All-Star Game was a possibility when meeting with the media ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
“It was a value built from the ground floor up in this league long before I ever got involved in it, and I’m sort of carrying the mantle now,” Silver said in early June. “But I know I speak on behalf of our owners, our teams and our players. I think they all feel very strongly that this is a core principle of our league, and that where we choose to celebrate something like an All-Star Game, that those values should be honored.
The state’s general assembly had a chance at revising the bill before adjourning for the year but did not any changes that appeased the NBA.
Your thoughts?
