The NBA will consider awarding a future All-Star Game to North Carolina now that the state has partially repealed the anti-LGBT law known as the bathroom bill.
The league pulled the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte after the law was enacted. New Orleans hosted it instead. At the time, the NBA said it hoped to take the game back to Charlotte in 2019 “provided there is an appropriate resolution to this matter.”
The NBA board of governors will meet Thursday and consider whether the partial repeal is good enough, a source familiar with the matter told CNNMoney. An announcement is not expected. Los Angeles will host the 2018 game.
The North Carolina law required people to use the restroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate, not their gender identity, in government buildings and in public schools and universities. It also prevented local governments from passing nondiscrimination policies based on gender identity.
North Carolina lawmakers voted in March to repeal the law and eliminated the bathroom stipulation. The replacement also allows cities to enact their own nondiscrimination ordinances beginning in 2020.
LGBT rights groups are concerned that the repeal doesn’t go far enough to protect people.
Since the so-called bathroom bill” was enacted, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been vocal about changing the law.
The NBA’s review of whether to return to North Carolina comes after the NCAA lifted its own boycott. The NCAA had pulled tournaments from the state but said Tuesday it would consider North Carolina for future championships.
