NBA Pulls 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte Over North Carolina's Controversial Bathroom Bill

North Carolina lawmakers have refused to repeal the state's controversial transgender bathroom bill, so the NBA is pulling its 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte, according to a statement Thursday from the league.

A new location for the All-Star Weekend has not yet been announced, but the NBA said it hopes to do so "in the coming weeks."

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

"Our week-long schedule of All-Star events and activities is intended to be a global celebration of basketball, our league, and the values for which we stand, and to bring together all members of the NBA community," the statement read. "[W]hile 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."

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had previously threatened to move the game unless the law, known as House Bill 2, was amended.

The NBA reportedly worked with legislators, hoping to create legislation that would "walk back" the impact left by the transgender bathroom bill. If the legislation had moved forward, certificates would be issued to transgender people, allowing them to use the bathroom of their choice as long as they registered their "sex assignment surgery."

Some state lawmakers were not immediately happy with the decision. According to Fox News congressional reporter Chad Pergram, North Carolina Rep. Robert Pittenger (R) accused the NBA of  "hypocrisy" for pulling the game while at the same time doing business in China.

Under the March bill, which has been labeled by many as "anti-LGBT" legislation, people are mandated to use the bathroom that coincides with their biological sex as it appears on their birth certificate. In addition, House Bill 2 blocks LGBT citizens from employing the state's anti-discrimination protection.

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