12/21/24
July 21, 2016
The NBA officially pulls the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte, NC: Official statement: "Our week-long schedule of All-Star events and activities is intended to be a global celebration of basketball, our league, and the values for which we stand, and to bring together all members of the NBA community -- current and former players, league and team officials, business partners, and fans. While we recognize that the NBA cannot choose the law in every city, state, and country in which we do business, we do not believe we can successfully host our All-Star festivities in Charlotte in the climate created by HB2.
posted by Ufez Jones to basketball at 06:43 PM - 12 comments
The NBA should do whatever they want.
posted by grum@work at 07:10 PM on July 21, 2016
What grum said.
posted by tommybiden at 07:17 PM on July 21, 2016
What tommytrump said
posted by NoMich at 07:22 PM on July 21, 2016
Hey JohnSoCal, do you leave the politics to the politicians? Clearly not, and plenty of businesses do the same because they're made up of people who have opinions on things. Sorry if this particular business decision isn't what you'd like but I'm guessing there are plenty which do.
And what NoMich said.
posted by billsaysthis at 09:26 PM on July 21, 2016
I was kind of on the fence about ordering League Pass this year. I don't have cable and I have no local team, so I really miss watching basketball outside of the holiday/playoff games on ABC.
This decision may have won me over. And if I decide to do so, I fully intend to let them know that this was a part of the reason why.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:10 PM on July 21, 2016
I'm still trying to figure out how a law that says you don't get to pick what gender you are when you wake up in the morning can even be considered controversial, let alone reason to boycott anything. But such are the times we live in.
posted by TheQatarian at 10:24 PM on July 21, 2016
The law is about more than bathrooms. This is from the text of the law...
It is the public policy of this State to protect and safeguard the right and opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain and hold employment without discrimination or abridgement on account of race, religion, color, national origin, age, biological sex or handicap by employers which regularly employ 15 or more employees.
"Biological sex" is defined in the law as the sex on a person's birth certificate. So if someone identifies as the opposite sex, up to and including going through gender reassignment surgery, they are not under the protections that this law provides. This is the point everyone has a problem with, and why the NBA is pulling out now...
posted by MeatSaber at 10:50 PM on July 21, 2016
"The act also prohibits municipalities in North Carolina from enacting anti-discrimination policies,setting a local minimum wage, regulating child labor, or making certain regulations for city workers. The legislation also removes the statutory and common-law private right of action to enforce state anti-discrimination statutes in state courts."
First, they came for the bathrooms...
posted by owlhouse at 11:40 PM on July 21, 2016
As for the issue, I am one who believes gender dysphoria is natural, something with which one is born. Is transitioning a "choice?" I'd say yes given the other option often is suicide. This law had nothing to do with "religious freedom" or keeping straight men, dressed as women, from raping females in women's rooms (media outlets have searched nationally and have found less than 5 cases in nearly a decade) - it simply was another state passing another anti-LGBT law, but it needed other stuff to make it not look like an anti-LGBT law ...
... thus, what owlhouse has posted should scare the hell out of North Carolina residents for it means that the state government can override anything that displeases them. Taking away a person's right to access the courts also may be considered unconstitutional in the federal sense.
Also, since it was addressed: corporations are people (the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed it) and the NBA is a corporation. If you believe this was a political action, the NBA's being upfront is better than many corporations who use "shell" organizations and political-action committees to express their opinion.
Sorry if I've gone overly political, but I don't know how this subject could be addressed without a political angle.
posted by jjzucal at 04:46 PM on July 24, 2016
I'm always glad for these threads and their way of showing me how tenuous our grasp on civilization really is.
posted by Etrigan at 06:09 PM on July 24, 2016
I would generally rather watch just about any sport in the world rather than basketball; it just doesn't appeal to me as a game. Yet, I suddenly find myself becoming a fan of the NBA.
And what grum, tommytrump, NoMich, and billsaysthis said.
posted by tahoemoj at 12:37 PM on July 25, 2016
The NBA should stick to basketball and leave the politics to the politicians.