The NBA has announced it’s moving next year’s All-Star Game out of North Carolina in light of the state’s recently passed law that many people believe discriminates against the LGBTQ community.
The league tweeted a statement on the decision Thursday afternoon.
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The move comes shortly after state legislators revisited the law, coined HB2, and chose to leave it largely unchanged.
“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.”
After the news broke, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory released a scathing statement, saying their laws have been “misrepresented.”
“Left-wing special interest groups have no moral authority to try and intimidate the large majority of American parents who agree in common-sense bathroom and shower privacy for our children,” McCrory’s statement said.
“American families should be on notice that the selective corporate elite are imposing their political will on communities in which they do business, thus bypassing the democratic and legal process.”
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts tweeted her support for the NBA’s decision, and urged McCrory to change the law before the state and its residents suffer additional fallout.
There has been ongoing backlash from companies and individuals since North Carolina passed the law.
PayPal has cancelled expansion plans in the state, Lionsgate reportedly moved production of a new TV show to Vancouver from Charlotte, while Microsoft, IBM and Facebook are among dozens of companies that have spoken out against HB2.
An announcement on where the game, set for February, will be moved will be made in the next few weeks.
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The league says it hopes to reschedule the game and its week-long festivities in Charlotte for 2019, “provided there is an appropriate resolution to this matter.”
With a file from the Associated Press.