Hornets support NBA in moving All-Star Game, hope to host in 2019
The Charlotte Hornets are understandably disappointed that they're losing the 2017 All-Star Game, which they've been anticipating hosting since winning the bid 13 months ago. But they also understand why the NBA made the decision, and remain optimistic that they'll get another opportunity to host in 2019.
"We understand the NBA's decision and the challenges around holding the NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte this season," Hornets majority owner Michael Jordan said in a statement shortly after the league's announcement.
"There was an exhaustive effort from all parties to keep the event in Charlotte, and we are disappointed we were unable to do so. With that said, we are pleased that the NBA opened the door for Charlotte to host All-Star weekend again as soon as an opportunity was available in 2019. We want to thank the city of Charlotte and the business community for their backing throughout this entire process, starting with the initial bid. We are confident that they will be just as supportive and enthusiastic for the 2019 All-Star game."
The league did indeed leave the door open for the festivities to be held in Charlotte in 2019 (the 2018 event was awarded to Los Angeles), assuming there is an "appropriate resolution" to North Carolina's discriminatory HB2 bill, which is what prompted the move.
It will be particularly hard for the city of Charlotte to stomach if such a resolution isn't ultimately reached, given that the bill - also known as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act - was specifically designed to block a city ordinance passed by Charlotte's municipal government that outlawed discrimination based on gender identity.
The state bill, signed into law in March by North Carolina governor Pat McCrory, requires transgender people to use the bathroom that aligns with the gender on their birth certificate, rather than that with which they identify. It also prohibited local governments from adopting or enforcing anti-discrimination policies not already contained in the state's anti-discrimination laws, thus effectively preventing the institution of LGBT rights and protections (North Carolina has no law specifically banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity).
McCrory released a statement of his own in the wake of the NBA's decision, blaming the "selective corporate elite" for "imposing their political will on communities in which they do business, thus bypassing the democratic and legal process."