Adam Silver Comments on Potentially Moving 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday the league's board of governors did not come to a decision regarding Charlotte's status as the host city for the 2017 All-Star Game, which has been called into question because of North Carolina's HB2 legislation.
"We feel this law is inconsistent with the core values of the league," Silver said, per Tim Dahlberg of the Associated Press.
Silver personally and the NBA itself have been outspoken regarding their displeasure with the legislation, which many see as discriminatory toward LGBT individuals. The bill requires citizens to use the bathroom of the gender listed on their birth certificates and features a number of other policies that could be detrimental for minority groups.
The bill has drawn condemnation and protests from the LGBT community, as well as criticism from a number of high-profile names in the sports world, including reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry. Silver said recent proposed alterations to the bill were not good enough.
"The primary test for us is under this law whether we can successfully host our All-Star Week," Silver said. "It is more than a game; it is a week full of activities in North Carolina. The question for us becomes in this situation, given the controversy, given the amount of discussion, given how hardened the views are, is this the place we should be in 2017, at the epicenter of global basketball where we can go celebrate our game and our values."
Silver said team owners, who met Tuesday in Las Vegas, did not vote on whether to keep the game in North Carolina. He offered no timetable on a potential decision.
"We're not trying to keep everybody in suspense," he said. "We realize this decision has to be made very quickly."
The Hornets were awarded the 2017 All-Star Game in 2015. Owner Michael Jordan told reporters at the time it was the culmination of a "constant process to get back to the top." Charlotte previously lost its NBA team to New Orleans in 2002 and then went through a decade of futility as the Bobcats before rebranding itself as the Hornets.
If the law does not change, it's looking more likely than ever that Charlotte's return to prominence will be halted by forces out of its control.
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