NBA pulls All-Star weekend from Charlotte over bathroom bill

The NBA has pulled this coming season's All-Star weekend from Charlotte as a result of North Carolina's controversial HB2 law.

The league announced the move in a statement Thursday, and hopes to try for Charlotte again in 2019, "provided there is an appropriate resolution" to the state's bill.

"Since March, when North Carolina enacted HB2 and the issue of legal protections for the LGBT community in Charlotte became prominent, the NBA and the Charlotte Hornets have been working diligently to foster constructive dialogue and try to effect positive change," according to the statement. "We have been guided in these discussions by the long-standing core values of our league. These include not only diversity, inclusion, fairness, and respect for others but also the willingness to listen and consider opposing points of view."

With little movement from the state regarding the law that many believe unfairly discriminates against transgender people, time was running out to make a decision on moving such a large-scale event. Last week, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said "the calendar is not our friend" in regards to efforts to amend the bill, also known as the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act.

The league is now focused on moving the event to New Orleans, The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski reports, adding that other cities are still hopeful of receiving consideration. The NBA said it will announce the new 2017 location sometime "in the coming weeks."

New Orleans hosted the NBA All-Star weekend just three seasons ago, in 2014. Prior to that, the city hosted the event in 2008. The local economic impact for the 2014 weekend was estimated at over $100 million.