NEW ORLEANS — Commissioner Adam Silver made one thing clear in his annual state-of-the-NBA address at All-Star weekend on Saturday: the world is round.
Other than that moment of levity, inspired by Kyrie Irving’s recent comment about the world being flat, clarity was hard to come by when it comes to the league’s weightier topics. The hoops were a sidestory during his 20-minute session, as the NBA’s view on the country’s politics was front and center.
CHARLOTTE IN 2019?
First and foremost, Silver addressed the root of why this event was in New Orleans, rather than Charlotte: the North Carolina legislation, House Bill 2, that limits anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the state. After announcing in July that this All-Star event would be moved, in essence, the law isn’t consistent with the league’s values, Silver has expressed his desire to return to Charlotte in 2019 if it is changed.
“We’d very much like to get back there,” Silver said. “We had a discussion (Silver and North Carolina governor Roy Cooper) so I understood, certainly, his position, when he was running for office, was anti-HB2, the bill that ultimately led to our leaving. So I really was talking to him more to understand, from his standpoint, how he was hoping to move forward in terms of changing that law. My main purpose of talking to him was to express our desire to return next year.
“In terms of laws in other jurisdictions, it’s something we continue to monitor very closely. You know, I’m not ready to draw bright lines. Clearly, though, the laws of the state, ordinances, and cities are a factor we look at in deciding where to play our All-Star Games.”
While the decision was consistent with the league’s values when it comes to discrimination, it remains to be seen if similar situation might unfold in the future. Specifically, Silver was asked about Texas’ Senate Bill 6, which has been compared to North Carolina’s HB2, and whether it might eventually exclude the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks or San Antonio Spurs from hosting an All-Star game.
“I think the issue is we’d have to look at the specific legislation and understand its impact,” Silver said. “I’m not ready to stand here today and say that that is the bright line test for whether or not we will play All-Star Games in Texas. It’s something we’re, of course, going to monitor very closely.
“What we’ve stated is that our values, our league-wide values in terms of equality and inclusion are paramount to this league and all the members of the NBA family, and I think those jurisdictions that are considering legislation similar to HB2 are on notice that that is an important factor for us. Those values are an important factor for us in deciding where we take a special event like an All-Star Game.”
TRAVEL BAN
Silver addressed President Trump’s travel ban for the first time as well, expressing concern about the situation but also noting that the decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to block it earlier this month has left the league in monitoring mode.
The league takes great pride in its diversity, with a record 113 players from 41 countries taking part this season.
“I do have concern about travel bans,” Silver said. “Putting aside the justification for them for a second, because I don’t have access to the same intelligence obviously or security information that people in the government do, but we are a business based on global mobility. As I said earlier, 25 percent of our players were born outside of the United States. We do a tremendous amount of business on a global basis, and if you think about what the NBA stands for, it’s, in essence, the very best all coming together, the very best in the world all coming together to perform at the highest level.
“So government restrictions on travel, I am concerned about. It goes against the fundamental values and the fundamental ingredients of what make for a great NBA, and that is the very best in the world coming here. Of the current state of that travel ban, of course, is that it was struck down by the court. So I have nothing to add to that.”
