The NBA released a statement Thursday evening regarding the state of North Carolina's controversial passage of the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, a law critics say unfairly targets the LGBT community and fails to protect them from discrimination.
"The NBA is dedicated to creating an inclusive environment for all who attend our games and events," the statement reads. "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."
The suggestion that the NBA could remove the All-Star weekend from Charlotte is significant. New Orleans estimated a local economic impact of $106 million from the event in 2014, which is the last year solid figures are available.
A similarly controversial anti-LGBT law was passed in Indiana in 2015, but the state made revisions that appeased the NCAA, which will stage the women's Final Four in Indianapolis next month.
The most infamous example of a city losing a major sporting event over contentious politics was in 1993, when Phoenix had the Super Bowl taken away because residents of Arizona voted against making Martin Luther King Day a state holiday. Voters later changed their minds, and three Super Bowls have been played there since.
The North Carolina bill was signed into law by Republican governor Pat McCrory on Wednesday night.
