The NBA has been a league that has tried to do the right thing by its players and coaches. After Donald Sterling was taped making racial comments about his own players, the league moved swiftly to suspend him and then moved to have him sell the team. Now it’s caught in a situation where the next year’s All-Star Game is scheduled to be played in Charlotte, North Carolina, a state that has a controversial anti-LGBT law on the books.
NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley says if the game isn’t moved, he may be forced to boycott the game and not cover it for his network. Barkley told the Dan Patrick Show that he may be in that position if the All-Star Game isn’t moved and the law isn’t repealed:
“I told my boss, I don’t want to act like I’m jumping on a sword, but I’ve talked to (NBA Commissioner) Adam Silver, we need to move the All-Star Game … I hope they don’t put me in a situation where I have to boycott the All-Star Game, we need to move the All-Star Game.”
The interview with Dan Patrick is below and the All-Star Game question comes up at 12:25 of the clip:
Some musical acts like Bruce Springsteen, Nick Jonas, Demi Lovato and Ringo Starr have canceled their commitments to play concerts in North Carolina over the law. Silver suggested back in April that the 2017 All-Star Game will move to another state if the HB2 law isn’t taken off the books. But the league continues to work behind the scenes with Charlotte business leaders and the state in hopes of keeping the game in place next year.
The controversy over HB2 continues and it remains a sore spot with the NBA and with Barkley.
[Dan Patrick Show]
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