ATLANTA — Atlanta Council members are calling on the NBA to move the All-Star game to Atlanta.
Next year's game is set for Charlotte, North Carolina. But North Carolina just passed a state law that requires people to use the bathroom associated with the gender of their birth, not the gender with which they identify.
Atlanta City Council President Caesar Mitchell and two others introduced a resolution Tuesday inviting the NBA to move the game to Atlanta.
“The City of Atlanta draws strength from our diverse community,” Mitchell said. “This unity creates our city's embracing spirit, a quality that has made Atlanta the destination of choice for numerous international business conventions, professional and college sporting events, as well as one of the largest concentrations of Fortune 500 companies in the nation. We would certainly welcome the opportunity to show that very spirit as the host of the 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend.”
"Atlanta is a vibrant, energetic city that would be an outstanding host to the 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend,” said Councilman Andre Dickens, chairman of the Community Development and Human Resources Committee. “As the home to the civil and human rights movement, our diverse set of people and businesses welcome this global event with open arms.”
The NBA is currently considering pulling the 2017 game out of North Carolina in response to the passage of House Bill 2.
Following the passage of the law, the NBA released a statement:
“The NBA is dedicated to creating an inclusive environment for all who attend our games and events. We are deeply concerned that this discriminatory law runs counter to our guiding principals of equality and mutual respect and do not yet know what impact it will have on our ability to successfully host the 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte.”
The game is currently scheduled to be held on Sunday, February 17, 2017.