The NBA let everyone know it was uncertain it could hold the 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte after North Carolina passed an anti-LGBT law. Then, NBA commissioner Adam Silver called the law “problematic for the NBA in North Carolina.”
Enough dancing around it.
Silver finally said changing the law was “necessary” for holding the All-Star Game in Charlotte (at least appropriately).
Howard Beck of Bleacher Report:
FYI: Adam Silver's full quote regarding the All-Star Game and North Carolina's anti-LGBT law: pic.twitter.com/B4BjnPzevY
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) April 21, 2016
I don’t think the NBA has been “crystal clear” by any stretch, but that’s OK. The league is so far ahead on this issue, it deserves praise rather than nitpicking over an evolving message.
A close reading of Silver’s quote leaves open the possibility the NBA could deem holding the All-Star Game in Charlotte inappropriate and do it anyway – either because other options are unviable or also inappropriate. But that seems extremely unlikely given that Silver said the league has time.
Stan Van Gundy and Charles Barkley have called on the NBA to move the All-Star Game from Charlotte, but it’s clear Silver isn’t rushing.
The pressure moves to North Carolina lawmakers to change the law – maybe not to a perfect solution, but one the NBA can live with. Or lose the All-Star Game.
Silver can make more direct threats later, but this one basically ends the idea of a comprise that includes the law remaining as is.