Since North Carolina's new law limiting bathroom access for transgender people went into effect earlier this month, cities in other states �" nearly 20 so far �" have passed bans on taxpayer-funded travel to the Tar Heel State. Many corporations have expressed outrage, and PayPal went so far as to cancel a planned operations center that would have generated 400 jobs. Entertainers like Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, and Pearl Jam have canceled concerts. Last week Cirque du Soleil announced it would not perform in the state. The outspokenness on the part of the business and entertainment communities is welcome support to folks who believe in equality.
But now is the time for the group with the loudest voice in the sports world to use it.
We're talking about the National Basketball Association and its All-Star Game, which is set to be played in Charlotte next year. The NBA has come under enormous pressure to move the game out of the state, and Commissioner Adam Silver has sided squarely on the side of equality in other contentious episodes. (Remember when Silver banned for life Los Angeles Clippers' former owner Donald Sterling for his racist statements?) This time, when the controversy involves LGBT rights, Silver hasn't been as forceful, despite the fact that the NBA has a gay man, Rick Welts, at the helm of one of the most successful franchises in basketball, the Golden State Warriors.
The NBA playoffs started last weekend, putting Silver once again in the crosshairs. But while Silver has sent conflicting messages, it appears that the NBA won't move the All-Star Game. It should. North Carolina is a basketball-crazed state, and moving the game would send a shock wave that equality is a serious matter. Such drastic action might spur lawmakers to revise the law, including restoring a provision for cities in the state to pass their own anti-discrimination ordinances. Silver is concerned about the message moving the game would send to the Charlotte Hornets, the NBA team that plays in the state. He also said that the NBA would like to work with the business community and elected officials to change the law. But lawmakers have given no indication they're willing to do that, and Governor Pat McCrory's hasty executive order last week did nothing to remove the anti-trans bathroom provision. The only change his order made was to extend non-discrimination protections to state workers. That is a good first step, but doesn't go far enough.
Silver said last weekend that the NBA has 10 months until the game, but moving a star-studded game needs to happen sooner, rather than later, because with each passing day the odds of moving it decreases.
There are pros and cons of the economic boycott now hovering over North Carolina. Ironically, those who support the LGBT community in the state are being negatively affected when concerts get canceled or companies decide not to expand. But sometimes a law is so heinous, mean-spirited, and likely unconstitutional that tough measures are called for. That's where we are today.
Silver and the NBA should take a stand for equality, and do the right thing by moving the All-Star Game.
Another organization that has condemned the law but won't take action is the National League of Cities, which is planning its 2017 City Summit in Charlotte. That conference should be moved as well; attendance is expected to be low because of the growing number of cities prohibiting travel by employees that is taxpayer funded.
The league prides itself on "cities united in the fight for the principles of local authority" and CEO and Executive Director Clarence Anthony said in a news release that it "stands united" with Charlotte in its commitment to inclusion. But that is meaningless. Right now, because of HB 2, Charlotte is unable to foster inclusion �" it cannot even pass its own local laws. Instead of standing with Charlotte, the National League of Cities should relocate the conference to affirm its commitment to local authority �" in protest of what's happening in North Carolina.
Finally, Governor McCrory is getting tangled up in his lame attempts to justify the law. He was on Meet the Press last Sunday, and apparently in all seriousness, suggested that the Human Rights Campaign was "more powerful than the NRA." Never mind that McCrory got HRC's name wrong, referring to the Human Rights Council. What's laughable about his statement is that if HRC were more powerful than the National Rifle Association, North Carolina's legislature would never have passed HB 2 and sent it to McCrory in the first place. After all, with the hundreds of shootings since Sandy Hook, the NRA has thwarted every attempt in Congress to pass the most basic gun control laws �" not even expanded background checks can get its OK, meaning such a bill will never make it out of Congress. HRC has a budget of about $16 million. In contrast, the NRA had about $243 million in expenditures a few years ago, and is far and away among the best-funded political interest groups. So, no, Governor McCrory, HRC is not more powerful than the NRA. Not even close.