NBA moves All-Star Game from Charlotte
It's being reported basically everywhere, but the NBA is following through on its threat to move the All-Star game out of North Carolina over recent bigoted laws aimed at the LGBTQ community.
Without any movement by state legislators in North Carolina to change newly enacted laws targeted at the LGBT community, the NBA is pulling the 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte, league sources told The Vertical.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver had threatened to move All-Star Weekend out of Charlotte unless a discriminatory North Carolina law aimed at the state’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community was changed – and time to do so has run out because of the logistics and planning the NBA needs to run its marquee midseason event, league sources said.
The league is reportedly looking towards New Orleans as a replacement host.
Edit, forgot the link. From Yahoo! Sports
http://www.nba.com/pelicans/new-orleans-pelicans-and-houston-rockets-he…
https://www.google.com/amp/s/secure.nba.com/amp/league/2016/news/07/20/…
Not saying NBA is wrong but maybe back up what you believe. And pull out of counties that have terrible records when it comes to human rights.
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*ducks*
(lol couldn't resist....)
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How many people are in Mexico vs. Charlotte?
Figure that out and you'll find your answer.
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"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."
---Adam Silver, NBA Commish
Translation? HB2 may fuck with my money. It'll be a distraction to my event. We use this weekend to grow our sport - we don't want protesters or controversy. We want fans to have a great time. People to spend a lot of money. Positive news coverage...and if we can take a "popular stance" and make some more money? Sheeeeeee-it, NOLA here we come baby!
It makes perfect sense from a business standpoint. I realize that in the past few weeks EVERYTHING has gotten political. But some things are all about the dollars and cents. Adam Silver is a businessman. Period.
state, not important to Nike since its owner helped lift the game and re-established its dominance every week during the 80's after Larry and Magic relit its lamp and Jumpman carried its torch.
Charlotte's city council passed an ordinance proposed by its Democratic female mayor to permit the city's lesbian and transgender population to use whatever bathrooms they identified with as their restroom of choice.
The Republican-controlled legislature in Raliegh, in knee-jerk reaction, immediately acted to overturn that ordinance by pushing through a statewide law that banned such a proposal.
Consider that. this was a local measure affecting only Charlotte and passed to help ensure the NBA would keep its all-star game in the city and the GOP-led legislature reacted by passing HB2 denying transgender residents of North Carolina the right to choose an appropriate restroom based on their defined gender.
That measure was immediately signed into law by the former Mayor of Charlotte and now governor, a puppet of the conservative movement, who while acting as a onetime high school basketball official, once officiated a game involving Michael Jordan, principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets.
In subsequent special session, in spite of widespread protest and challenge, the legislature failed to amend the law in any meaningful way forcing the NBA decision announced today. This wasn't because of the people of Charlotte. This was a conservative movement decision in the state capitol as an election year reactionary standard. Consider that Jordan will be the honorary captain for Michigan's home opener against Hawaii, and the state of North Carolina has slapped their favorite son and most decorated sports athlete ever in the face by passage of this stupid politcally-motivated law.
What part of the new testament and specifically the words of Jesus (I'm assuming by your tagline that you derive your moral high ground from the Bible, specifically the NT) address bathroom usage? What part of love your neighbor as yourself says that people have to use bathrooms that correspond with their birth sex rather than current gender?
You say that we should just stick to sports but then proceed to not stick to sports. I'm not going to say that's contradictory, but that's contradictory.
There are quite a few solutions to this issue that do not require people who are born with male genitalia but who are feminine in look and behavior to use a mens room where they are often assaulted or harrassed. Unisex bathrooms are one option. Europe has 'em. We have them. Just not everywhere yet, and that will take time.
Have you taken the time to look at the research on transgender people? It's not pretty--their suicide rates are many times that of non transgender and even well above that of our soldiers with PTSD. I imagine some people are choosing to be transgender, but I don't believe whatsoever that there aren't some people who truly have desires and behaviors that are typical of the opposite gender from their sex. The downsides of being transgender heavily outweigh whatever upsides there might be.
Am I right to assume that you would treat kindly someone who came into the mens bathroom dressed as a woman? Should that person just announce to the bathroom: "don't worry, y'all. I have a dick"? Should she whip it out for proof?
I dig your style and get where you're coming from. Sounds like we're on different sides of the fence but aren't trying to be jerks to anyone.
A couple of thoughts: one, odds are your wife and daughter have probably already been in a bathroom with a transgender person and didn't know it. If someone with a dick but who presents female does anything other than enter a stall, close it, and go to the bathroom, she/he will get in trouble. It's just like if a dude (gender) with a dick tries to peek over the stall regardless of which restroom he's in. If a dude whips it out near the sinks of the mens room and starts acting stupid, he'll get arrested.
I get the general point, though, that some straight dude creep might use this ruling as a way to creep on girls/women. But anything creepy he does will get him arrested anyway, so why put the transgendered in harms way? My wife is a school teacher and we're both in education and I think: man, some students are going to take advantage of this (not necessarily to creep on girls, but entering the wrong bathroom just to get attention/stir things up, because that's what teens do). I think the balance of the scales tips in favor of safety of transgender at the moment, but I'm willing to admit I don't know what this change would bring.
I'm generally pro decentralization of government as well. But I don't follow your state's rights argument since the city of Charlotte decided what was best for them but then the state gov't decided to overrule them. If the state wants to overrule a city government, they might as well be prepared to be overruled by the fed.
If the nba wants to jump into the political arena
I'm neither liberal or conservative, essentially a man without a country in these modern times.
My observation is that these political stands are always one-sided, heavily on the liberal side.
What if one of these stands was on the conservative side, boycotting a city that banned guns or performed too many abortions or whatever the conservative hot buttons are?
People would go apeshit and demand that these political stands stop immediately.
That would be interesting.
Hey, if you are going to be political, then why not spread it around and piss off everybody?
but I don't believe anyone actually could, that place is amazing and I'll probably stop by later today.
I agree that the interests in China are morally questionable, but one can certainly understand the business decision the NBA made years back to tap into that market.
As for the LGBT stand domestically, I guess I'm not as cynical as some people on this board are. From what I've seen, the NBA has put out a fairly consistent pro-LGBT rights message over the past year or so. They're one of the only leagues that I've seen that openly celebrates LGBT pride month, Adam Silver and other NBA executives were the first professional sports league representatives to ever march in NYC's Pride parade, and now this.
I'm not so ignorant to believe that there isn't some opportunism behind this decision, especially considering the momentum behind the movement over the past half-decade or so, but I also think Adam Silver is NOT David Stern.
THEY HAVE A LOGO!!!
How many people are in China vs. Charlotte?
Figure that out and you'll find your answer.
That being essentially the case, it seems to me that taking a political stand only when convenient is far worse and more hypocritical than to just stay out of it entirely. All it says is that even their so-called principles are just business decisions as well, wrapped up in a facade of social correctness. Kind of like the NFL and their pinkwashing.
Lying about having principles is one hell of an irony. Sports leagues are in general pretty bad at political causes because the entire foundation that holds them together is based on the idea of forgetting about the outside world. Even Branch Rickey was plain about the fact that Jackie Robinson needed to be a damn good ballplayer and that integration was partly about losing a ton of talent to other leagues.
I think it's fair to have different standards for different things. NC is a US state and the NBA should be able to hold them to a higher standard. I don't see why we can't add some complexity to real life. Ideally, China would be a beacon for freedom and democratization. They aren't. Can I be disappointed with them? Sure. But can't I also ask more from a State that's been a part of a democracy since 1789 (or 1868)?
So important I wrote it twice
What was all that "refuse to use the sarcasm tag" talk?
It's kind of crazy that the NBA is stading up to a state for it's problems with the legislature. I can't think of a financial reason for this(most things in pro sports come down to making the most money possible) so it seems like Adam Silver is really doing this out of sheer resentment for the North Carolina legislature. I'm all for it
Honestly, there's no particular financial reason against it either. It really doesn't matter from the league's standpoint where the game is held. This is more a PR thing.
but no one would blame them for not moving it
Wow. I'm shocked they went through with it, but good for them.
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Which is a major problem if you are post-op and LOOK like the gender you now identify with.
Like this lady:
YMRMFSPA Wes Welker.
No Sexy Bits!!!
Looks like a chick 100%.
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