The NBA All-Star game was set and ready to be hosted in North Carolina, the hometown of Hornets owner Michael Jordan himself. The city of Charlotte hadn’t seen the All-Star game been hosted in the city since the first time it visited in 1991 when the 76ers own Charles Barkley won the All-Star MVP even after Jordan scored 26 points on 10-25 shooting.
Recently however, stretching back as far as the start of this year, the spotlight has been hot on North Carolina in relation to todays climate on social issues that are rapidly changing as society becomes more accepting and including. The state was under close watch as to whether or not they would pass the bill known as HB2 and as the news spread that it had passed, the NBA was quick to announce it’s dissatisfaction.
The announcement was swift in stripping the All-Star game from Charlotte, which may cost the city more than $100 Million in revenue from the event, as the NBA continues it pursuit to tackle social issues and support it’s players in doing so. This was apparent when star players around protested such issues as the Donald Sterling incident to when many players donned the “I Can’t Breathe” t-shirts in support of the Eric Garner case against New York City police.
In light of the All-Star game’s rescinding, a few cities are already being targeted as the relocation begins to move forward as sources around the league suggest that New Orleans could receive the event for the second time in just 3 years.