Charlotte Hornets: NBA to act on All Star Game Soon
The Charlotte Hornets may have to face the reality of losing the 2017 All Star Game before the end of the summer.
The Charlotte Hornets got some more insight on whether they would retain hosting rights on the 2017 All-Star Game. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has thus far advocated a wait and see approach while very much suggesting that the NBA would like to see some change come down the line on HB2. Silver mentioned that he wanted to see that LGBT rights were protected.
All of that was stuff that Silver has echoed before about this issue. The new stuff was what a time table for moving the game out of Charlotte to another city would be like. The commissioner said that action would have to be taken before the end of the summer if the game was to be moved.
That suggests that the NBA will have to take action rather quickly. Since HB2 is a contentious political issue that sits in the middle of people’s minds, no politician is going to push for resolution before the election. That means no resolution of the issue until November, which is long past the end of the summer.
More from Charlotte Hornets
- Charlotte Hornets: Return would have provided valuable experience
- Charlotte Hornets: Regrading the 2010 NBA Draft
- Charlotte Hornets win what could be final game of the season
- Charlotte Hornets: Tank now or buzz towards the playoffs?
- Charlotte Hornets travel to face Pistons with focus on the future
As a result, the NBA will likely move the game. They are already investigating replacement sites to have ready if they need them.
Silver, a Duke law grad, made clear that it was the transgender bathroom requirements that were at the heart of the opposition. It was larger concerns about the threats to LGBT ‘economic and personal rights.’ Silver acknowledged that moving the game would likely hurt the state’s economy further.
So once again the plan to make the Hornets rise again in the city hangs by a thread. The change of the name of the franchise, the more active off-seasons, and some $30 million in arena improvements got the team this far. The All Star game was to have showcased the city and team and pushed interest one step further.
Now no one knows. Yet it seems clear that the NBA will make the call before training camp starts.