McCrory Says Political Correctness Killed Charlotte's NBA All-Star Game

Gov. Pat McCrory says the NBA's decision to pull its 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte is being driven by “selective outrage” over the state's LGBT laws.

The NBA says that it's moving the game elsewhere because of House Bill 2. The league issued a statement late Thursday after a source leaked that the announcement was imminent.

League commissioner Adam Silver has said on several occasions that the controversial law runs counter to the NBA's core principles of diversity and inclusion.

The NBA's official announcement says the league has been working to foster a dialogue with state leaders since March, when HB2 became law. The league says while it cannot choose the law in every place it does business, the climate created by House Bill 2 has led to the All-Star Game being taken elsewhere.

On Friday, Gov. Pat McCrory told WFAE's “Charlotte Talks” that he thinks the decision was driven by political correctness.

“I'm disappointed,” McCrory said. “I strongly disagree with their decision. To put it bluntly, it's total P.C. BS.”

The controversial law, which has brought national attention to North Carolina, limits local protections for LGBT residents and mandates which bathroom a transgender person must use, among other things.

McCrory says the league made no protests about LGBT protections when it first announced that the game would come to Charlotte.

“The state of North Carolina and the city did not have those protections when the NBA made their decision to come,” McCrory said. “The City Council had defeated that motion to have a nondiscrimination clause. The NBA still decided to come. There was no out roar and there was no protest.”

For his part, Silver has said in the past that he's been “crystal clear” on what the league wanted state lawmakers to change.

The All-Star Weekend would have been the largest event held in Charlotte in more than four years, with some tourism experts estimating an economic impact of $100 million dollars. That comes from the tens of thousands of visitors staying in hotels, eating and playing around the city.

While the league says it has not yet decided on a replacement host, New Orleans has been suggested as the main contender to hold the event.

The NBA says it may hold the 2019 game in Charlotte if there's “an appropriate resolution” to the matter.