NBA officials are looking at moving next year’s All-Star Game from Charlotte, North Carolina, in the wake of a state law requiring schools to have bathrooms for use only by those of the sex the facilities are marked for.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver, speaking just before the opening game of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, said that alternate sites are being studied and a decision is needed by September.
“We are looking at alternatives,” Silver said. “We are in the process of looking at other options. At the same time, we would be moving on if I didn’t think there were constructive discussions going on.”
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“I don’t see we would get past this summer without knowing definitively where we stand,” he said.
Silver said he met last month with business leaders working behind the scenes with city and state officials for a compromise due to what he called “enormous economic damage.”
“One of the core underlying principles of this league is diversity and inclusion. Where we choose to celebrate an All-Star Game, those values should be honored,” Silver said.
“We as a league want to make sure there’s an environment where the LGBT community feels protected down in North Carolina,” he said. “If we can work with the community to ensure those basic protections are given ... we will see you all in Charlotte next February.”
The North Carolina law says that schools in the state are to have “single-sex multiple-occupancy bathrooms” solely for the use of those of the biological sex — “the physical condition of being male or female, which is stated on a person’s birth certificate” — corresponding to the facilities, where a facility designed or designated to be used by more than one person at a time where students may be in various states of undress in the presence of other persons.”
For on-court issues, Silver had high marks for the NBA, but said he does not want rule changes to dampen the excitement from a rise in three-pointers, even as he admits it might be time to consider adding a fourth referee for games.
“It has been an incredible season,” Silver said. “It’s a fantastic time to be an NBA fan. It just seems like the game is being reinvented. It seems like both [finals] teams are transforming the game.”
Golden State set a season record for three-pointers by a team on the way to an NBA record 73 wins, with repeat NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry breaking his own record with 402 three-pointers to win the scoring title.
“Steph, together with Klay [Thompson], they have overcome a psychological barrier for a lot of players who just never thought the kind of shots they would make were possible,” Silver said.
“When you see Steph that far behind the three-point line, where on a regular basis he’s making 30-footers and requiring defenses to cover him in ways they aren’t used to covering players, it changes the whole dynamic of our game,” he said. “It’s just incredibly exciting.”
As a result, Silver sees no chance of a rule change such as moving back the three-point arc to try and reduce the long shots.
“I don’t think any change is necessary right now,” Silver said. “It may be what Steph is demonstrating is he’s so good that no one else can touch him.”
However, Silver admitted the faster-paced style might require more eyes to catch fouls.
“Maybe the game is so fundamentally different now that we maybe do need to look at a fourth official,” Silver said.
The rules committee will examine leg kicks trying to draw contact and foul calls and Silver would like a reduction in fouls away from the ball to put a poor free-throw shooter at the line as a defensive ploy.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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