NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said time is running out to make a decision about whether to move the 2017 All-Star Weekend from Charlotte.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday in Las Vegas, where owners held their annual meeting, Silver said a decision must be made soon if the leagues decides to find another host city. Charlotte’s host status was cast into doubt after North Carolina lawmakers passed a controversial law known as House Bill 2, which, among other things, requires transgender individuals in public buildings to use the restroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificates.
The NBA has called the law discriminatory and incompatible with the league’s “core values.”
Silver on Tuesday did not indicate when a decision on the All-Star Weekend might be made.
“We’re not prepared to make a decision today,” he said. “But we recognize the calendar is not our friend. February is quickly approaching, especially in terms of big events like the All-Star games if we’re going to make alternative plans.”
The game is scheduled for Feb. 17 at Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena. In addition to the All-Star Game, the weekend includes competitive events on Friday and Saturday night and a fan festival, typically held in a host city’s convention center, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Critics of HB2, including several large corporations, have encouraged the NBA to remove the game from Charlotte. The law was passed in response to a Charlotte ordinance that would have allowed transgender individuals to use a restroom matching their gender identity.
City leaders had hoped to reach a compromise with Republicans who control the statehouse, but the legislature recently adjourned without addressing the issue.
