Charlotte looks to shake off HB2 legacy with NBA All-Star Game hoopla
North Carolina’s notorious “bathroom bill” almost sank the NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte.
Nearly three years ago, Charlotte City Council passed an ordinance that extended legal protections for gay, lesbian and transgender people. Among other consequences, the measure set into a motion a sequence of events, including the passage of a state bill opposed by hundreds of businesses, that ultimately delayed the NBA All-Star Game being played in Charlotte by two years.
Now the game will be held in Charlotte this weekend.
If you lived in Charlotte for any part of the last few years, the memory of House Bill 2, the N.C. legislature’s answer to Charlotte’s LGBTQ ordinance, may have faded.
Charlotte lost dozens of concerts, large conferences and business expansion opportunities because of HB2. With its reputation tainted, the city is still paying several million dollars a year to market itself to visitors.
Business leaders here now see the NBA All-Star Game as a way to showcase Charlotte as a welcoming place, and to attract other large-scale events.
“I want to have a little bit of fun, but at the same time, this is about work for us,” Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles told reporters recently at an All-Star Game press conference at the Spectrum Center. “This is about the recruitment of good-paying jobs for our city, and every opportunity I have to get before a corporation or business owner, I’m going to be talking about that.”
Asked what kind of impression she wants Charlotte to leave with visitors, Lyles responded “that we are a welcoming and diverse city, that we are inclusive, that this is a great place to live and that you should bring your business here.”
The total economic impact of the All-Star Game in Charlotte is expected to be near $100 million, according to the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, the city’s tourism arm. It’ll be broadcast in 200 languages across 40 countries, providing a high amount of visibility for the city, the CRVA says.
“When we pursue strategic events like NBA All-Star, we tout the incredible media exposure they can provide,” CRVA CEO Tom Murray said in an email. “In turn, that exposure generates valuable impressions that can lead to a better perception of our city.”
HB2’s messy history
The most controversial part of Charlotte’s non-discrimination ordinance, which was the first of its kind in North Carolina, would have allowed transgender people to use either a men’s or women’s bathroom, depending on the gender with which they identify.
But a month after Charlotte passed its ordinance, and before it went into effect, the state legislature met in a one-day specially convened session in March 2016 and passed a sweeping law that reversed the Charlotte ordinance. HB2 sometimes called the bathroom bill, drew sharp and immediate criticism from state governments, Fortune 500 companies and sports leagues.
Right away, the NBA voiced its opposition, calling HB2 discriminatory toward the LGBTQ community.
To broker a repeal deal on HB2, Hornets President Fred Whitfield made so many trips to Raleigh in the months after the bill was passed that he started carpooling with other city business leaders. At stake, Whitfield has said, was not only the All-Star Game, but also Charlotte’s reputation.
In July 2016, just over a year after the NBA awarded the 2017 All-Star Game to Charlotte, the league announced it would move the marquee event out of North Carolina because of opposition to HB2. Instead, the 2017 game was held in New Orleans, although the league at the time promised a return to Charlotte in 2019 if HB2 was repealed.
Aside from the NBA, the fallout from HB2 was widespread.
PayPal, for instance, scrapped its plans to open an operations center in Charlotte, costing the city at least 400 high-paying jobs. Dozens of entertainers, from Maroon 5 to Bruce Springsteen, canceled North Carolina shows because of the law.
In March 2017, about a year after HB2 was passed, the state legislature approved a compromise bill that repealed the controversial bathroom bill. The replacement, HB142, also forbids cities from passing their own non-discrimination ordinances until December 2020.
In May 2017, with HB2 off the books, the NBA announced it would bring the All-Star Game back to Charlotte in 2019.
For some opponents of HB2, the repeal wasn’t enough.
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights group, has pressed N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper to take administrative steps to ensure protections for the LGBT community. The group has said it remains “deeply disappointed” with HB 142 because it pre-empted state agencies from expanding bathroom access.
“HB142 is not a repeal of HB2. It’s a replacement of one discriminatory bill with another discriminatory bill,” said Cathryn Oakley, the HRC’s state legislative director and senior counsel.
Making guests feel welcome
For its part, the NBA has worked for years to address social justice issues like LGBTQ rights during the week leading up to the All-Star Game.
This week, for instance, NBA and WNBA players and league staff are holding a conversation with LGBTQ youths and allies from Time Out Youth Center, a Charlotte nonprofit that provides personalized support services and programs to LGBTQ kids.
Kathy Behrens, the NBA’s president of social responsibility and player programs, said that the community events serve a dual purpose for host cities.
“Everything we do in the community is (about the NBA) being appreciative of the community for welcoming us,” Behrens said. “It’s also about making sure our guests feel welcome.”
This story was originally published February 13, 2019 at 2:30 PM.
