CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 30 (UPI) — The National Basketball Association and its North Carolina club, the Charlotte Hornets, said late Thursday that they do not accept revisions made to the state’s controversial House Bill 2.
The bill, passed by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Pat McCrory in March, among other things, mandates that transgender state employees and students use restrooms of the gender they were assigned at birth, not the gender they identify with.
In recent days, though, news media have reported that legislators are now considering a revised version of the bill, amid pressure from the professional basketball league.
A draft of the proposed changes was leaked earlier this week.
Thursday evening, the Hornets organization said it so far rejects the changes that have been made or proposed to the bill.
“We have been engaged in dialogue with numerous groups at the city and state levels, but we do not endorse the version of the bill that we understand is currently before the legislature,” the team said in a joint statement with the NBA.
The NBA is scheduled to host next year’s All-Star Game in Charlotte, but that event could be moved elsewhere if the contentious portions of House Bill 2 remain.
League Commissioner Adam Silver has said previously that the 2017 All-Star Game is in danger of being moved from North Carolina over the controversy. Thursday, though, the league said no new decisions have been made about that possibility.
The North Carolina Legislature, in the final days of the current session, is expected to submit an updated version of the bill for passage before lawmakers adjourn.
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