Adam Silver Comments on Potentially Moving 2017 NBA All-Star Game
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver met with reporters Thursday night before Game 1 of the NBA Finals tipped off at Oracle Arena, and he addressed the status of the 2017 NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina, after the state passed HB2, a controversial anti-LGBT law, in March.
According to Bleacher Report's Sean Highkin, Silver provided an update and said discussions with leaders in North Carolina are "ongoing" after the league previously took a strong stance and said it would relocate the game if the law wasn't changed.
When pressed to reveal a deadline for potentially moving the game, Silver pegged "this summer" as a general timetable, according to ESPN's Rachel Nichols via The Undefeated's Mike Wise. Silver also confirmed the league is "looking at alternatives," per Highkin.
Nichols provided another sound bite from the commissioner:
During the Associated Press Sports Editors commissioners meeting in April, Silver called the bill "problematic" and didn't hesitate to offer up a stern declaration.
"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 said, according to the Charlotte Observer's Katherine Peralta.
However, Silver has long stressed patience and noted at the NBA's board of governors meetings in April that the NBA "can be most constructive by working with elected officials to effect change," according to Peralta.
The 2017 NBA All-Star Game is currently scheduled to be played at Time Warner Cable Arena on Sunday, Feb. 19.
