The NBA yesterday officially pulled the ’17 All-Star Game from Charlotte due to the controversial surrounding the state of North Carolina’s HB2. Hornets Exec VP and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer Pete Guelli last night told THE DAILY the NBA from the beginning “said it was going to be problematic, but they wanted to do everything they could to keep the game here.” He said, “We were still hopeful, but at the same time we completely understood the NBA’s position. We have 29 other partners and we try to look at the decision from the big picture perspective. We support the league.”
The league indicated that it would bring the game back to Charlotte in ’19 if changes to the law are made. The '18 game is already scheduled for L.A. Guelli said, “We already have spoken to the league and they have made it clear that we will have every opportunity to host the game as long as the environment is conducive. We have spent a huge amount of human capital preparing for the game and hopefully we can apply some of it to the 2019 game.”
Meanwhile, Charlotte Observer cartoonist Kevin Siers offers his take on the situation:
