NBA Owners to Discuss All-Star Game Amid Controversial NC Law

North Carolina faces backlash over controversial transgender law.

ByABC News
April 15, 2016, 8:11 AM

— -- NBA owners are expecting an update today on the situation surrounding the 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina, at this week's board of governors meetings in New York.

The Tar Heel State has been embroiled in controversy since Republican Gov. Pat McCrory last month signed House Bill 2 into law, an ordinance that banned people from using bathrooms that don't match the sex indicated on their birth certificate.

Feeling the pressure on and off the court, the league has been asked to move the game from Charlotte amid the backlash.

Prominent figures, including former NBA star Charles Barkley, also condemned the law limiting protections for LGBT people.

"As a black person, I’m against any form of discrimination -- against whites, Hispanics, gays, lesbians, however you want to phrase it," Barkley told CNN last week. "I think the NBA should move the All-Star Game from Charlotte."

The band Mumford and Sons played in Charlotte Thursday night and said they would be creating a charitable fund to support those who "make it their mission to pursue love and justice." The group also said they would be donating to a local LGBT organization.

Bruce Springsteen canceled his tour stop on Sunday and Ringo Starr pulled out his show set for June.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators wrote to NBA commissioner Adam Silver earlier this week urging the organization to "take a stand" and move the All-Star Game away from Charlotte.

Silver called the law "deeply concerning" and said he hoped the situation would be resolved soon.

McCrory filed an executive order that extended further protections to state employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity, but left the bulk of the law intact.