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Gay NBA executive reportedly shows up in Charlotte for All-Star game despite 'Bathroom Bill' concerns

Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game being held in Charlotte is two years behind schedule.

The game was originally slated for the Queen City for 2017, but North Carolina’s controversial House Bill 2, aka the “Bathroom Bill,” prompted the league to relocate the game to New Orleans as part of a broader protest of the anti-LGBTQ measure passed by the gerrymandered conservative state legislature.

Law forbade legal protections of LGBTQ community

The bill that required people to use bathrooms that matched their birth sex also removed protections from gay and transgender people in public and professional settings. It also forbade municipalities such as Charlotte’s local government from extending those protections in conflict with the state bill.

The discriminatory measure prompted a swath of protests that saw companies and entertainment acts declining to do business in the state, with the removal of the NBA All-Star game among them.

“We then made a decision that it was inconsistent with the values of this league to play the All-Star Game here under those circumstances,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday while discussing the decision.”

The All-Star game was removed from Charlotte in 2017 over concerns about an anti-LQBTQ law in North Carolina. (Getty)
The All-Star game was removed from Charlotte in 2017 over concerns about an anti-LQBTQ law in North Carolina. (Getty)

Compromise still leaves LGBTQ community vulnerable

The protests prompted a compromise measure in the state legislature that removed the requirement that people use bathrooms that match their birth sex, but maintained the more insidious wording that prevented municipalities from providing protections to LGBTQ people. It also left open the door for the bathroom requirement in the original bill to be brought back to life by future state leaders.

The compromise led to the end of some of the boycotts including the return of the All-Star game, but was seen by some as a blow to LGBTQ rights as the bill leaves members of the community legally open to discrimination in North Carolina.

Rick Welts reportedly in Charlotte despite concerns

It led openly gay Golden State Warriors president and CEO Rick Welts unsure if he would attend the festive NBA weekend. According to USA Today, Welts decided to attend the event and is in Charlotte for All-Star weekend.

Rick Welts, center, is reportedly in Charlotte despite anti-LQBTQ concerns in a North Carolina law. (Getty)
Rick Welts, center, is reportedly in Charlotte despite anti-LQBTQ concerns in a North Carolina law. (Getty)

Welts was an influential voice in the NBA removing the All-Star game from Charlotte in 2017 and appears to have softened his stance despite ongoing concerns about the anti-LGBTQ language in the state’s law.

Welts has not spoken publicly, but Silver addressed those concerns when speaking with reporters.

“For many people, it didn’t go far enough, and I’m sympathetic to those who feel that there are still not appropriate protections for the LGBTQ community,” he said. “But I also felt from a league standpoint it was important, and as part of our core values, to work with people and ultimately to move forward with the community.”

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