2017 NBA All-Star Game

2017 NBA All Star Game
Date February 19, 2017
Arena Time Warner Cable Arena
City Charlotte, North Carolina
Network TNT
NBA All-Star Game
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The 2017 NBA All-Star Game is an exhibition basketball game that will be played on Sunday, February 19, 2017 and will be the 66th edition of the event. It is planned to be held at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, home of the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets were awarded the All-Star Game in an announcement on June 22, 2015. If the game remains in Charlotte, it will be the second time that Charlotte will have hosted the All-Star game; the city previously hosted the event in 1991 at the now-demolished Charlotte Coliseum. The official logo was unveiled on February 14, 2016, using elements from the Hornets' font, colors, and logo.[1][2] TNT will nationally televise the game.

Controversy

North Carolina House Bill 2 (HB2) became law in late March 2016. It bans, among other things, NC city governments from passing ordinances that protect members of the LGBT community from discrimination. Charlotte already passed such an ordinance in February for the All-Star Game. However, when House Bill 2 went into effect, it terminated the ordinance. Charlotte, as a result, currently does not have any anti-discrimination protection in place, something that would be vital for a large event such as the All-Star Game. It is important to note one of the reasons HB2 went into effect was the existence of Charlotte's ordinance.[3] Talk about the NBA pulling the game from Charlotte began to rise due to the discriminatory nature of HB2.

In the following days, Dallas and especially Atlanta both suggested the idea they could host the game if the NBA removed it. Atlanta made a public suggestion to the NBA less than a week after HB2 passed about hosting the game, mentioning it had vetoed a similar bill and it's success with hosting other major events of a similar size. In response however, the NBA stuck with Charlotte for the meantime.[4][5][6] On April 5, NBA analyst and former player Charles Barkley voiced his support to move the All-Star game to another city.[7] He joined other newspaper journalists, including journalists from The Guardian and The Washington Post, who advised the NBA to do the same when the news was first announced.[8][9]

On April 12, North Carolina Governor Patrick McCrory signed an executive order that changed some parts of HB2 but left most of it intact, drawing further criticism. A week after Barkley's statement, a group of six US Senators wrote to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, telling him to move the game due to HB2. Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy also spoke out in favor of moving the game. NBA team owners were expected to have an update on the situation at the annual NBA Board of Governors meetings.[10][11] Two days later, on April 14, an Oakland city council member announced her intention for Oakland to host, again using HB2 as the primary reason for removing the game from Charlotte.[12]

During the Board of Governors meeting on April 15, the NBA announced they did not have any plans to remove the game from Charlotte and did not vote to do so, however Silver said HB2 remained a problem and, according to an official press release, was also concerned about Charlotte's capability to host the game because of HB2.[13][14] Silver next spoke about the issue on April 21 at the Associated Press Sports Editors commissioner meetings and on ESPN's Mike and Mike morning radio show. During both appearances he stated the NBA would rather work with the state and city governments to help change the law instead of issuing a definitive statement. However, he also made clear the game would move if HB2 wasn't changed.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Hornets to host NBA All-Star Weekend in 2017". NBA. June 23, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  2. ↑ "NBA All-Star 2017 logo crowns Charlotte for city's second NBA All-Star". NBA. February 14, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  3. ↑ "North Carolina anti-gay law may jeopardize 2017 NBA All-Star Game". USA Today. March 25, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  4. ↑ Sefko, Eddie (April 6, 2016). "Could Dallas host 2017 All-Star Game if North Carolina loses it over controversial LGBT law?". sportsday.dallasnews.com. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  5. ↑ Klepal, Dan (March 30, 2016). "N.C. governor takes aim at Atlanta’s attempt to steal 2017 NBA All-Star game". ajc.com. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  6. ↑ "NBA responds to Atlanta’s call to move All-Star Game from Charlotte". charlotteobserver.com. March 29, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  7. ↑ Boren, Cindy (April 6, 2016). "Charles Barkley implores NBA to move All-Star Game from N.C. over anti-LGBT law". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  8. ↑ Felt, Hunter. "The NBA should pull the all-star game after North Carolina ruling". theguardian.com. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  9. ↑ Bontemps, Tim (March 25, 2016). "If North Carolina doesn’t change discriminatory LGBT legislation, NBA must move All-Star Game". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Bipartisan group of U.S. Senators urge NBA to move '17 All-Star Game". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  11. ↑ Tan, Avianne. "North Carolina Governor Signs Order in Response to 'Anti-LGBT' House Bill 2". abcnews.go.com. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Oakland official to NBA: Bring All-Star Game to California". charlotteobserver.com. April 15, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  13. ↑ "NBA: No plans now to move All-Star Game from Charlotte, but HB2 'problematic'". newsobserver.com.
  14. ↑ "NBA releases statement on All-Star 2017 in Charlotte". NBA. April 15, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  15. ↑ "NBA's Silver: LGBT law must change to keep 2017 NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte". charlotteobserver.com. April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2016.

External links

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