J-Speaks: NBA All-Star Weekend on the Move

For years, the NBA All-Star Weekend is a major showcase for the National Basketball Association. It pays homage to legends that have brought the game to where it first began, the current players who are taking the game to even greater heights and the future players that we see in the likes of the Rookie and Sophomore Game for a little over two decades of what the future of the league has to offer. It gives a chance for those of the NBA to interact with fans from across the globe. Unfortunately, the location for the 2017 Weekend has been moved because of an inclusive law enacted.

This past Thursday, the NBA issued a statement saying that the 2017 All-Star Game will not be taking place in Charlotte, NC due to the objections of the North Carolina law known as House Bill 2, which limits the protections from anti-discrimination for lesbian, gay and transgender people.

The bill, which is also known as The Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, which was signed by North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R), requires that transgender folks to use the bathrooms which correspond to the sex on their birth certificate.

The law only applies to bathrooms in government buildings, public schools and public universities, not to private universities like Duke. Private companies are allowed to implement any policy of their choosing.

Ever since the law was enacted back in March, the NBA has expressed its dissatisfaction and opposition to HB2 and Thursday’s decision to move the All-Star Game comes about lees than a month after the North Carolina state legislators took another look at the law, but chose not to make any adjustments to it.

“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 last week. “We have been guided in these discussions by the long-standing 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.”

This decision made by the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver was one that did not come easy, but was a decision that he wanted to make very swiftly and quickly.

According to a story in Thursday’s edition of Newsday, Silver wanted to make decision during the summer and that he and the league were disappointed when the General Assembly of North Carolina cleared a path for workers to use the law of the state to sue over discrimination based on a person’s race, religion, but left out the ability for a citizen of Charlotte to sue over discrimination against a person’s gender identity and sexual orientation.

While the door might be closed for having All-Star Weekend in Tar Heel country this upcoming February, with an announcement of its new location shortly, there is a hope that Charlotte could be rescheduled to host the 2019 Weekend, including the All-Star Game if there is a resolution.

Governor McCrory made his own statement last week stating that multiple groups had, “misrepresented our laws and maligned the people of North Carolina” for months.

“American families should be on notice that the selective corporate elite are imposing their political will on communities in which they do business, thus bypassing the democratic and legal process,” McCrory also said.

The Mayor of Charlotte Jennifer Roberts (D) also stated that she was “deeply disappointed” the HB2 bill caused the NBA to move February’s game.

“All-Star Weekend would have provided an excellent opportunity to further showcase our great and welcoming city,” Roberts stated last week. “Charlotte has shown it commitment to equal rights and inclusion and will continue to promote those values.”

According to a report from the The Vertical, via ESPN.com from Thursday, New Orleans, LA has emerged as the front runner to be the new host of the 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend. Other cities that are in the running include, Chicago, IL, New York, NY and Brooklyn, NY.

To illustrate how big of blow this will be for the city of Charlotte, the city just said goodbye to $100 million, which according an announcement from State Senator of Mecklenburg County Jeff Jackson (D) would have gone to schools, health care and roads.

“We’ve sacrificed all of that for Gov. McCrory’s social agenda. He would rather pander to his base than fix an obvious mistake that has major consequences.”

One NBA player who is really sad about this decision is back-to-back regular season MVP of the Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry, who grew up in Charlotte because his father Dell, played for the Hornets for over a decade and is currently a color analyst for the team.

“Just I know how much that would have meant to the city,” the lead guard for the back-to-back Western Conference champion Warriors said on ESPN’s “Sportscenter” last week. “We support [the decision], but at the end of the day, I love Charlotte. I love the city.”

This decision also put a spotlight again on a particular state in the U.S. not evolving with the times of today. Not being completely inclusive to others regardless of the fact that they are different.

This is not new however. This is something that we have been grappling with even at the national level. At last week’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland, OH, an openly gay man gave a speech and he was well received. The Republicans at the national level and even in some states like North Carolina have not been welcoming to the change of seeing the likes of the LGBT community.

While the GOP has had a hard time evolving to the fact that the LGBT community deserves equal rights on all fronts, it has not stopped the likes of athletes for example stepping up and speaking their minds in support, especially this decision by the NBA.

Former NBA player Jason Collins, who became the first openly gay athlete in any of the four major pro sports when he played for the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA three years ago tweeted, “As a member of the NBA family and as a gay man, I’m extremely proud to see the NBA take initiative and move the All-Star Game from North Carolina. Their decision is an extremely poignant one and shows that discrimination of any kind is not welcome in sports and is not acceptable in any part of society. The NBA has set the best kind of example and precedent moving forward for all to follow.”

Turner Sports, which broadcasts the All-Star Game and the festivities like All-Star Saturday night and the Rookie and Sophomore challenge the night before said in a statement, “We fully support the NBA’s decision to relocate the 2017 All-Star Game and all the weekend’s events originally scheduled to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina. Laws to the contrary go against our fundamental belief of equality and inclusion for all individuals.”

The other big question is how will this affect other major events the city will have going forward in the next year.

Atlantic Coastal Conference (ACC) Commissioner John Swofford told ESPN this past Thursday that for now the league will keep its college football championship game in Charlotte. He also said that the ACC will revisit that decision this October.

The PGA of America, the hosts of the PGA championship released a statement this past Thursday saying that since the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte is a private facility, it plans to allow the spectators to use the facilities that conform with their current gender or gender of expression.

“As we look to future events, our willingness to consider coming back to the State of North Carolina will be severely impacted unless HB2 is overturned,” the PGA said last week.

What this decision by the NBA has shown us all is that we live in a world today where a majority of us feel that no matter your gender or sexual preference, it should not affect how our lives proceed. We all should be able to treat people equally and be respectful of who they are and what they are. Those who still want to be closed minded and continue to live and exist in an era where people had their lane and stayed in it, things like what the NBA decided to do will happen and at the end of the day, everyone is impacted financially and emotionally.

“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 were unable to do so,” Hornets’ chairman, Hall of Famer and 14-time All-Star Michael Jordan, who played in the 1991 All-Star Game in Charlotte said on Thursday. “With that being 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.”

Information and quotations are courtesy of “NBA Statement Regarding 2017 NBA All-Star Game,” from pr.nba.com/nba-statement-2017-nba-all-star-game-charlotte/?cid=nba2013; 7/22/16 espn.go.com article, “NBA Moves 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte over HB2 Bill,” from ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, Ramona Shelburne, Brian Windhorst, Andrea Adelson and Andy Katz; 7/22/16 Newsday article, "NBA: Charlotte Won't Host All-Star Game," by Katherine Peralta and Rick Bonnell http://en.m.wikpedia.org/wiki/Pat_McCrory; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Roberts_(politician); http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan.