The NBA should pull the all-star game after North Carolina ruling

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Following North Carolinas decision to repeal local anti-discriminatory laws, the NBA has opened up the possibility of moving the 2017 all-star game. It should

On Wednesday, North Carolinas state legislature introduced and promptly passed House Bill 2, an action that effectively ensured that LGBT individuals would not be protected by anti-discrimination laws. Among the many businesses that expressed disapproval of the bill, which Governor Pat McCrory has already signed into law, was the NBA, which may end up pulling the 2017 all-star game from Charlotte in response.

On Thursday, the NBA released the following statement: The NBA is dedicated to creating an inclusive environment for all who attend our games and events. We are deeply concerned that this discriminatory law runs counter to our guiding principles of equality and mutual respect, and do not yet know what impact it will have on our ability to successfully host the 2017 all-star game in Charlotte.

Its a purposefully cautious statement. Still, the fact that the league issued one so quickly after the bill passed suggested that theyre worried that keeping the all-star game in North Carolina would be a de facto endorsement of what appears to be a particularly disturbing piece of legislation.

HB2 was itself a response to a measure passed in Charlotte that, among other things, would have allowed transgender individuals to use the restrooms corresponding to their gender identity. HB2, which was spun as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act and built upon the harmful misconception that paints every transgender person as a potential child molester in drag, was designed to prevent that particular bill from going into effect on 1 April.

The laws aims went beyond encouraging transphobic bathroom monitoring. It effectively bars local governments in North Carolina from passing acts protecting LGBT individuals from discrimination and nullifies any such measures currently on the books.

We have seen sports organizations respond to bills and laws like this before. Last year, Indiana passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the euphemistically named law that legalized the freedom of businesses to practice targeted discrimination against the LGBT community. In this case, the NCAA, which regularly holds college basketball events in Indianapolis, including the then-imminent Final Four, warned the state that the enacting the bill could make them rethink holding events there in the future. Within the week, Indiana lawmakers reversed course and agreed to radically rewrite the bill. (NCAA president Mark Emmert has said that he is monitoring the situation in North Carolina.)

When the Arizona legislature passed its own variation on the Restoration Act, the NFL issued a stern warning saying that they would contemplate moving Super Bowl XLIX if the law were to pass. Governor Jan Brewer eventually ended up vetoing the bill, making that move irrelevant. Then, just last week, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy issued this statement regarding the possible passage of a similar bill in Georgia: NFL policies emphasize tolerance and inclusiveness, and prohibit discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other improper standard. Whether the laws and regulations of a state and local community are consistent with these policies would be one of many factors NFL owners may use to evaluate potential Super Bowl host sites.

Its hard to know how committed the NFL is to these principles, however. When Houston passed the HERO act, which, like HB2, restricted transgendered individuals access to the appropriate facilities, the NFL eventually decided against moving the 2017 Super Bowl from the city in response.

The NBA can, and should, do better. Under Adam Silver, the NBA has established itself as perhaps the most progressive of the major US sports leagues (although the NHL has shown itself to be forward thinking in certain areas too). The defining moment of Silvers tenure so far came early on when he helped end the ugly reign of much-loathed Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling after he was recorded making inflammatory racial comments. It was a sign that the league was issuing a zero tolerance policy on intolerance.

When it comes to issues affecting the LGBT community, the NBA should have a special interest. It became the first of the major US sports leagues to feature an openly gay, active player after Jason Collins made his historic announcement in 2013. Earlier this season, referee Bill Kennedy came out after an incident where Sacramento Kings point guard Rajon Rondo directed a homophobic slur at him. (Rondo was suspended a game for his actions).

If the NBA wants to continue to be at the forefront of making professional sports a more welcoming environment for the LGBT community, it has to be serious about moving the all-star game unless HB2 is either repealed or modified. While clearly this wouldnt be of the same level of magnitude as the NFL relocating the Super Bowl, moving the first all-star game held in Charlotte in 26 years would be no mere symbolic act. It would be a serious PR disaster for the state above and beyond the potential economic impact it could have.

Now, there are many who would rather the NBA, and sports leagues in general, stay completely out of political and social matters, but neutrality is not possible in this particular situation. Assuming that this law remains on the books as is, keeping the all-star game in North Carolina would make just as much of a statement as moving it would. It would just be an uglier one.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2016/mar/28/nba-all-star-game-north-carolina-house-bill-2