Charlotte eligible, not guaranteed, to host 2019 NBA All-Star Game

NEW YORK – Charlotte is eligible – but not guaranteed – to host the 2019 NBA All-Star Game, despite a new house bill in North Carolina that does not resolve fundamental issues of equality, diversity and inclusion for the LGBT community, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Friday.

“This is not an easy decision,” Silver said. “When Charlotte resubmits its application, we will need to ensure our events can proceed with open access and anti-discrimination policies, and that we can extend those policies to the venues, hotels and businesses that we would work with during All-Star.”

Last month, North Carolina repealed House Bill 2, which required transgender people to use bathrooms based on their birth certificate and not by the gender in which they identified, and replaced it with House Bill 142. The new bill exempts schools from state bathroom regulations but retains the ban for anti-discrimination laws until 2020.

Several LGBT and human rights organizations said the new law remains discriminatory.

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“We believe that All-Star Game in Charlotte could be a powerful way to display our values of equality and inclusions, and by engaging more deeply in North Carolina, we can be part of a larger national effort toward securing LGBT equality,” Silver said.

“Ultimately, I believe changing attitudes – and not just laws – is what will lead to that result.”

In July, the league decided to relocate the 2017 All-Star Game to New Orleans from Charlotte because of House Bill 2.

Silver acknowledged that bringing the All-Star Game to Charlotte is not a done deal. The league will develop an anti-discrimination policy and ask its participating partners in North Carolina to agree to the policy.

“If those requirements are met, it’s our expectation that the All-Star festivities will be there for 2019,” he said.

Silver said he would like to have those requirements met in the next month for Charlotte to get the All-Star Game.

Silver also said the league’s longtime relations with the city and state played a role in the decision to reconsider Charlotte as an All-Star destination.

“Our decision was guided in part by the fact that we have strong roots in North Carolina. We have an NBA team in Charlotte, and it’s been there for nearly three decades,” Silver said. “Twenty-nine NBA teams travel every year to play in Charlotte, stay in its hotels and eat in its restaurant. We also have an NBA Development team based in Greensboro, and teams travel there every year to play.”

After Silver's announcement, the Charlotte Hornets released the following statement:

“We are excited that the NBA has once again made the City of Charlotte eligible to host All-Star Weekend in 2019. We look forward to resuming our discussions with the league on the next steps regarding this international event. We know that our city, our fans and our business community remain extremely enthusiastic in support of hosting NBA All-Star Weekend.

" ... The Charlotte Hornets and Hornets Sports &

Silver understands the new law does not appease everyone, but he hopes the NBA’s presence in North Carolina can spur progress.

“I think we can be a force for change,” Silver said. “I understand that there is a segment of our fan base that believes that the change from HB2 to the new law is not enough, but it is change. It's incremental change. We were part of the movement, pushing for that change. It's not everything we could have hoped for, but we're prepared to go back.”

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