After a failed effort to hold the 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina, the NBA has given the city another chance by announcing it will hold its 2019 festivities there for the first time in 28 years.
“We have decided to award NBA All-Star 2019 to Charlotte based on this deep connection and the belief that we can honor our shared values of equality and inclusion,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement, “and we are excited to bring the All-Star Game back to Charlotte for the first time in 28 years.”
“While we understand the concerns of those who say the repeal of HB2 did not go far enough, we believe the recent legislation eliminates the most egregious aspects of the prior law,” added Silver. “Additionally, it allows us to work with the leadership of the Hornets organization to apply a set of equality principles to ensure that every All-Star event will proceed with open access and anti-discrimination policies. All venues, hotels and business we work with during All-Star will adhere to those policies as well.
“Sports have a long history of helping to change attitudes around important social issues. We believe holding our All-Star activities in Charlotte will be a powerful way for the NBA to continue this tradition.”
The NBA had chosen to take that 2017 bid and give it to the city of New Orleans after the infamous “bathroom bill” discriminated against the LGBT community and could cause a division in both business and ethic interests.
A new bill was signed into law this past March, repealing only segments of the HB2 bill, which restricted people from using bathrooms based on gender identity rather than their sex assigned at birth.
Critics of this new bill argued the changes on it aren't enough to prevent businesses from discriminating against the LGBT community. This raises the question that while the NBA acted so boldly against the original HB2, it now appears to be okay with a watered-down version of it.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver (left) and the editorial board of the Charlotte Observer (right) have different views of the HB2 “repeal." pic.twitter.com/bTP4Ivjqvy
— Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) May 24, 2017
The new law fails to make mention of any bathroom policies, leaving it up to the “discretion” of a business to take action, meaning that, yes — it's basically back to block one from where the previous law was.
The NBA's hopes of an inclusive atmosphere during All-Star Weekend are just that — hopes.
It seems like the league was once again avid to comply with a promise made to the city of Charlotte and hopped on the first available chance to get it over with, regardless whether changes are really being made or not.
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