Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports
The NBA will move the 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte, N.C., the league announced Thursday, over the state’s controversial HB2, which has been roundly criticized as discriminatory against LGBT individuals. “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,” the NBA said in a statement. The league is reportedly looking to move the event, which takes place in mid-February, to New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center. In April, NBA commissioner Adam Silver threatened the move unless the law was scrapped or amended to explicitly protect LGBT individuals from discrimination. The NBA said it is working with Charlotte to host the festivities there in 2019.