Charlotte Hornets co-owner Felix Sabates is irate that the NBA All-Star Game was removed from the North Carolina city and sharply criticized the league and Charlotte city leaders for the loss of the marquee event. “Shame on those responsible for such a short sighted decision to take the NBA All Star away from Charlotte I always thought this was country that ALL peoples not just a few can determine our future”, he wrote, according to the Charlotte Observer.
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But the mean-spirited bathroom law, requiring individuals to use restrooms of the gender on their birth certificate in public buildings, has earned a rebuke.
It is absurd for a state to expect men and women to carry papers to relieve themselves.
Adam Silver, commissioner of the National Basketball Association announces that the 2018 NBA All-Star game will be held in Los Angeles at Staples Center during a press conference at Staples Center on March 22, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
Governor Pat McCrory lashed out at the sports and entertainment industry and the media in response to the NBA’s announcement.
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts expressed disappointment that the law’s “discriminatory actions” led to the NBA’s decision and hoped the city will get another shot at the showcase in 2019. “We will do everything possible to assist the NBA, Mr. and Mrs. Benson and the New Orleans Pelicans in their efforts, if called upon”. It’s main thrust denies state anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay and transgender people and prohibits local governments from enacting their own protections for those same folks.
“We understand the NBA’s decision and the challenges around holding the NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte this season”, he said. “And we need to let the sponsors of this All-Star Game know that we don’t agree with this decision and don’t have to buy their products”, he says.
“The NBA should be ashamed of itself for using North Carolina – particularly its young girls – as a political pawns for an out-of-touch agenda that compromises both dignity interests and privacy rights”, Fitzgerald said in a statement.
Republicans including McCrory are likely to maintain their rhetoric surrounding the law known as HB2, banking on conservative voters in rural areas who support the law, said Michael Bitzer, a political science professor at Catawba College.
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Several musicians have canceled performances in North Carolina over the lay including Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Boston, Ringo Starr, Nick Jonas, Demi Lovato, Maroon 5 and others.
