NBA about to snatch All-star game away from Charlotte

So let's get this right...

The NBA is moving the all-star game from North Carolina due to this bathroom deal, but their plan is to move it to Louisiana, who is suing the federal government over the public school bathroom mandate.

Meanwhile, China is hosting events for the NBA and making their apparel while they abort baby girls because they aren't boys, pay children pennies on the dollar in sweat shops, and imprision political dissenters.

This is typical political grandstanding. The NBA Cares......about money.

 

Doesn't China have human rights issues and the NBA still wants to play there?

 

wrong already. That's not why, at all, and anyone saying that HB2 is just about bathrooms hasn't kept up with the controversy.

Your points on China are better, but that just doubly underlines the bottom line that many of us have repeated but never gotten through, I guess: this is a business decision and it's made with the idea of making the league, in the long term, more profitable.

That's exactly where the Venn diagram for the NC situation and China situation overlap for the NBA: perceived revenue. End of story. It's just not hard to figure out.

 

What world do you live in? Politics have always been involved in sports. The Olympics and Jesse Owens vs Hitler, The Black Power protests. Muhammad Ali and draft protest. All the political games and bribes to get the Olympics and FIFA. Teams getting local government to pay for stadiums & arenas. Champions getting to visit the White House. Leagues including the NBA starting to take stances against domestic violence. NFL and their anti-trust exemption...

This. So many people saying the NBA is pulling the game because Charlotte is a small market and they'll make more money in a bigger market. The NBA makes the real money on TV rights and advertising not in ticket sales.

 

A few exhibition games are meaningless to the Chinese government. The NBA and other American companies have little power to influence their government. However individual companies have influence over their business partners in China to change labor practices etc.

 

Their plan isn't finalized to move it anywhere yet. But let's say they do move it to Louisiana - do you think the Lousisiana state legislature, which is chock full of wingnut dip****s trying to pass their own version of HB2 - becomes more or less likely to implement LGBT discrimination measures? Probably less.

Good lord, again with this specious linkage. What the hell does China have to do with this? If I try to cure something that's wrong, like discrimination against blacks, LGBT, whatever - this automatically becomes invalid because my shoes are made by some poor schmuck in China?

That's just plain stupid, for reasons that don't need to be explained.

Yes it's a political issue - and it's sad that discriminating against LGBT's are seen by some as good politics, and the NBA is using its market power to do something about it.

Good.

 

I'm saying that "human rights" is the platform the NBA is standing on, like they are some great moral arbitrator. They are not out there saying "this is going to cost us money to keep it here", even if that is their intent.

I seriously doubt the average person sees through that. You've got way to much confidence in the public if you believe otherwise.

To be clear, I have no issue with the league moving the game UNLESS they are breaking a contract. My guess is they used political leverage to force the Hornets to comply, so no....I don't think the NBA had the right to move the game unless it was mutually agreed on both both parties (again, without political force).

 

I'm thinking the NBA isn't making a statement as much as their sponsors are by forcing this cancellation.

Since HB2 was passed over 150 CEOs have denounced it. And some large ones have taken huge action by pulling out of plans to create jobs in NC -- both Paypal and Deutsche Bank.

[Charlotte Mayor] Roberts acknowledges, however, that one of the most difficult aspects about the nationwide fallout has been the business boycott of North Carolina. Since the law was passed, more than 160 CEOs have spoken out against HB 2, while companies like PayPal and Deutsche Bank have pulled future business from the state.

http://www.advocate.com/politicians/2016/5/20/charlotte-mayor-hb2-backlash-i-did-not-see-coming​

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Here's the petition of CEOs.

Dear Governor McCrory,

We write with concerns about legislation you signed into law last week, HB 2, which has overturned protections for LGBT people and sanctioned discrimination across North Carolina. Put simply, HB 2 is not a bill that reflects the values of our companies, of our country, or even the overwhelming majority of North Carolinians.

We are disappointed in your decision to sign this discriminatory legislation into law. The business community, by and large, has consistently communicated to lawmakers at every level that such laws are bad for our employees and bad for business. This is not a direction in which states move when they are seeking to provide successful, thriving hubs for business and economic development. We believe that HB 2 will make it far more challenging for businesses across the state to recruit and retain the nation’s best and brightest workers and attract the most talented students from across the nation. It will also diminish the state’s draw as a destination for tourism, new businesses, and economic activity.

Discrimination is wrong and we believe it has no place in North Carolina or anywhere in our country. As companies that pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming to all, we strongly urge you and the leadership of North Carolina’s legislature to repeal this law in the upcoming legislative session.

Sincerely,

Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer, Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
Karen Appleton, Senior Vice President, Box
James Avery, CEO, Adzerk
Brandee Barker, Cofounder, The Pramana Collective
Marc Benioff, CEO, Salesforce
Chip Bergh, President and CEO, Levi Strauss & Co.
Michael Birch, Founder, Blab
Ed Black, President and CEO, Computer & Communications Industry Association
Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Goldman Sachs Group
Nathan Blecharczyk, Cofounder and CTO, Airbnb
Steven R. Boal, CEO, Quotient Technology Inc.
Alex Boden, General Manager, Plum Organics
Ron Boire, CEO, Barnes and Noble
Lorna Borenstein, CEO, Grokker
Brad Brinegar, Chairman and CEO, McKinney
Michael Bronner, President, Dr. Bronner’s
Craig Bromley, President, John Hancock Financial
John Bryant, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kellogg Company
Wes Bush, Chairman, CEO and President of Northrop Grumman
Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, co-CEOs, Atlassian
Lloyd Carney, CEO, Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.
Marc Casper, President and CEO, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.
Safra Catz, CEO, Oracle
Brian Chesky, CEO, Airbnb
Emanuel Chirico, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PVH Corp.
Ron Conway, Founder and Co-Managing Partner, SV Angel
Tim Cook, CEO, Apple
Roger W. Crandall, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance
Paul T. Dacier, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, EMC Corporation
Bracken P. Darrell, CEO, Logitech
Dean Debnam, Chairman and CEO, Workplace Options
Mike DeFrino, Chief Executive Officer, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants
Bill Demchak, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
Alex Dimitrief, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, GE
Jack Dorsey, CEO, Square and Twitter
Sandy Douglas, Executive Vice President & President, Coca-Cola North America, The Coca-Cola Company
David Ebersman, Cofounder and CEO, Lyra Health
Randy Fiser, CEO, American Society of Interior Designers
Blair Fleming, Head, RBC Capital Markets, U.S.
Jared Fliesler, General Partner, Matrix Partners
Vince Forlenza, Chairman, CEO and President, BD
Mark Gainey, CEO, Strava Inc.
Joe Gebbia, Cofounder and Chief Product Officer, Airbnb
Jason Goldberg, CEO, Pepo
Kristen Koh Goldstein, CEO, BackOps
Mitchell Gold, co-founder and chair-man, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams
John H. Graham IV, President and CEO, American Society of Association Executives
Peter T. Grauer, Chairman, Bloomberg L.P.
Logan Green, CEO, Lyft
Mike Gregoire, CEO, CA Technologies
Paul Graham, Founder, Y Combinator
David Hassell, CEO, 15Five
Charles H. Hill III, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Human Resources, Pfizer Inc.
Reid Hoffman, Chairman, LinkedIn
Robert Hohman, Cofounder & CEO, Glassdoor
Lane S. Hopkins, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Capital One Financial Corporation
Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Drew Houston, CEO, Dropbox
Stephen R. Howe, Jr., U.S. Chairman and Managing Partner, Americas Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP
William H. Howle, President of U.S. Retail Banking Group, Citibank
Steve Huffman, CEO, Reddit
Chad Hurley, Cofounder, YouTube
Dave Imre, Partner and CEO, IMRE
Dev Ittycheria, President & CEO, MongoDB
Richard Jenrette, Founder, Classical American Homes Preservation Trust
Laurene Powell Jobs, President, Emerson Collective
Michael O. Johnson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Herbalife
Cecily Joseph, VP Corporate Responsibility and Chief Diversity Officer, Symantec Corporation
Steve Joyce, CEO, Choice Hotels International
Travis Kalanick, CEO, Uber
David Karp, Founder and CEO, Tumblr
Travis Katz, Founder and CEO, Gogobot
Alan King, President and COO, Workplace Options
Dave King, CEO, LabCorp.
David Kohler, President & CEO, Kohler Co.
Brian Krzanich, CEO, Intel
Joshua Kushner, Managing Partner, Thrive Capital
Michael W. Lamach, Chairman and CEO, Ingersoll-Rand plc
William P. Lauder, Executive Chairman, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
Jeff Lawson, Founder, CEO and Chairman, Twilio
Max Levchin, CEO, Affirm
Dion Lim, CEO, NextLesson
Frank Longobardi, CEO, CohnReznick LLP
Shan-lyn Ma, CEO, Zola
Elie Maalouf, Chief Executive Officer, The Americas, InterContinental Hotels Group
Vishal Makhijani, COO, Udacity
Tom Mangas, CEO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Rob Marcus, Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Cable
Bill Maris, CEO, Google Ventures
Marissa Mayer, President and CEO, Yahoo
Melody McCloskey, CEO, StyleSeat
Douglas Merrill, CEO, Zestfinance
Dyke Messinger, President and CEO, Power Curbers Inc.
Chris Meyrick, Chief Diversity Officer, American Express Company
Steve Mollenkopf, CEO, Qualcomm Inc.
Bob Moritz, US Chairman and Senior Partner, PwC
Denise Morrison, President and Chief Executive Officer, Campbell Soup Company
Brian Moynihan, CEO, Bank of America
Oscar Munoz, President and CEO, United Airlines
Hari Nair, Vice President and General Manager, Orbitz.com & CheapTickets.com
Christopher J. Nassetta, President & Chief Executive Officer, Hilton Worldwide
Michael Natenshon, CEO, Marine Layer
Alexi G. Nazem, Cofounder and CEO, Nomad Health
Alexis Ohanian, Cofounder, Reddit
Laurie J. Olson, EVP, Strategy, Portfolio and Commercial Operations, Pfizer Inc.
Bob Page, Founder and CEO, Replacements, Ltd.
Doug Parker, Chairman and CEO, American Airlines
Mark Pearson, CEO, AXA Financial Inc.
Mike Pedersen, CEO and President, TD Bank, N.A.
Michelle Peluso, Strategic Advisor and former CEO, Gilt
Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google
Mark Pincus, Founder and Executive Chairman, Zynga
Hosain Rahman, CEO, Jawbone
Bill Ready, CEO, Braintree
Evan Reece, CEO, Liftopia
Stan Reiss, General Partner, Matrix Partners
John Replogle, CEO, Seventh Generation
Walter Robb, co-CEO, Whole Foods Market
Chuck Robbins, CEO, Cisco Systems
Virginia M. Rometty, Chairman, President and CEO, IBM Corporation
Dan Rosensweig, CEO, Chegg
Kevin P. Ryan, Founder and Chairman, Alleycorp
Bijan Sabet, General Partner, Spark Capital
Brian Samelson, CEO & President, eMaint Enterprises, LLC
Julie Samuels, President, Engine
George A. Scangos, PhD, CEO, Biogen
Charles W. Scharf, Chief Executive Officer, Visa Inc.
Paula Schneider, CEO, American Apparel
Steve Schoch, CEO, Miramax
Dan Schulman, President and CEO, PayPal
Howard Schultz, Chairman and CEO, Starbucks
Adam Shankman, Director and Producer
Gary Shapiro, President and CEO, Consumer Technology Association
David A. Shaywitz, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, DNAnexus
Behshad Sheldon, President and CEO, Braeburn Pharmaceuticals
Ben Silbermann, CEO, Pinterest
Brad Smith, President and Chief Legal Officer, Microsoft
Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott International
David Spector, Cofounder, ThirdLove
Jeremy Stoppelman, CEO, Yelp
Jerry Stritzke, President and CEO, REI
John G. Stumpf, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Wells Fargo & Company
Julie Sweet, Group Chief Executive North America, Accenture
Christopher J. Swift, Chairman and CEO, The Hartford
Bret Taylor, CEO, Quip
Todd Thibodeaux, CEO, CompTIA
Brian Tippens, Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
David Tisch, Managing Partner, BoxGroup
Nirav Tolia, Cofounder and CEO, Nextdoor
Kevin A. Trapani, President and CEO, The Redwood Groups
Mark Trudeau, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals
Paul Van Deventer, President & CEO, Meeting Professionals International
Ken Wasch, President, Software & Information Industry Association
Casey Wasserman, Chairman and CEO of Wasserman & President and CEO of the Wasserman Foundation
Bob & Harvey Weinstein, Co-Founders and Co-Chairmen, The Weinstein Company
Devin Wenig, CEO, eBay
Tim Westergren, Founder and CEO, Pandora Media, Inc.
Robert Wolfe, CEO, CrowdRise
Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO, Facebook


http://www.hrc.org/blog/more-companies-call-for-repeal-of-hb2-despite-nc-gov-mccrorys-executive-ord
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bottomline: needless to say, HB2 is being aggressively boycotted by businesses, either directly or indirectly through getting the NBA to cancel.

 

Not what I'm saying at all, but alright. I've thought he was gay for years and have no problem with it. But thanks for being a dick.

Sure they have and it's probably the right thing for the NBA to do here. All I'm saying is it's a shame for the city and local fans, many of whom probably don't support or aren't even aware of the law.

 

It's odd to me that anyone would consider getting the NBA All Star game is a big deal. It sucks. Who cares.

 

Lol. Yes it does need to be explained. You've just implied that the NBA is better off addressing an issue that affects where 0.3% of the population goes to the bathroom (which just a year ago was a non-issue). Save me you're fervent zeal for such a noble cause.

Meanwhile, you ignore the NBAs connections to the true monstrosities happening in China simply because you don't live among them on a daily basis.

It's a matter of priorities. People picking the perceived speck out of the eye and ignoring the beam. Forgive me, but I'm tired of the self righteousness of the Twitter age.

 

This is where you're just flat wrong, kiddo.

Anti-LGBT laws don't just effect 0.3% of people whom you deem to be freaks of nature and therefore, worthy of state-sanctioned humiliation - they demean all of us as a society, because the state acts in our name, such state-sanctioned humiliation makes all of us complicit.

When we can take a stand against them, we should, period

And we will - and it doesn't make a ****'s worth of difference what China's Tibet policy is, or what anonymous anti-gay internet dunderheads think about how it should prioritize relative thereto.

 

Not me. I would crucify them. :grin:

I'm sure North Carolinians are all aware. Or they should be made aware. And, if those in Charlotte oppose it, they're probably happy to see the NBA stick it to the state government anyway. I know I'd be happy to have the NBA pull the ASG from Houston to punish dumb Texas legislation.

The NBA is an American business (invested in, run by, and selling to US citizens) using it's considerable domestic market power to exercise its first amendment rights in America to help shape its country into what it wants for itself. The NBA is relevant to, significant to, and invested in American society, including its governance. Why shouldn't they do something to protest what they see as an injustice? Certainly, they could also vote with their feet in China, but they're foreigners there -- they aren't relevant, significant, or invested in the fortunes of China. If they refused to do business there, no one would notice and no injustice would be averted.

 

Trust me they'd notice if they didnt have Chinese money...

http://awfulannouncing.com/2015/nba-set-earn-700-million-chinese-streaming-deal-tencent.html

20% revenue just from CHINA...

 

Heh, you may want to check your math, son.

 

I'm getting 2.8% from that TV deal.

But still, that increases the Cap by roughly $2.33m.

 

The NBA is first and foremost a BUSINESS. They don't care where they get their dollars.

I hate the word "injustice" here. Injustice is Tiananmen Square. It's the Holocaust. It's the disproportionate incarceration of blacks for the same crimes as whites.

Injustice isn't not getting to pee where you want to. And honestly, that's not even the case here. LBGTs can go anywhere they want. What they really want is the public endorsement and a public lashing of those who won't support them.

My problem with this entire discussion is that too many people think this matters, like we are having a debate over slavery. Like it's an indictment of society and a reflection of some deep seeded hatred for LGBTs. The faux oppression bit is getting old.

 

Whatever the revenue might be, China is a lot more important to the NBA than the NBA is to China. The NBA has no leverage to change Chinese policy on anything.

 

Umm, anti-LGBT discrimination is a topic, because Anti-LGBT bills keep getting passed.

And, by a mysterious coincidence, these bills are getting passed by the ideological heirs of the same people and places that brought you slavery, Jim Crow, secession, etc.

Here's a solution - stop passing Anti-LGBT legislation if you don't want it to be a topic.