NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has
called on the NBA to move next year's All-Star Game out of Charlotte
to protest a North Carolina law that targets the LGBT community.
House Bill 2, approved during a one-day
special session in March, blocks cities from enacting LGBT
protections and prohibits transgender people from using the bathroom
of their choice in government buildings, including schools.
In a telephone interview on the Dan
Patrick Show, Barkley spoke about how he admired Muhammad Ali's
philosophy of helping others.
“I've been trying to get the NBA to
move the All-Star Game out of Charlotte because of the transgender
thing,” Barkley
said. “I think, man, it would be great to win a championship
and it'd be great to have money, but when you're rich and famous –
especially if you're black – I feel like I have an obligation to
talk about the state of education in this country, sending all these
black kids to poor high schools and not making them successful and
things like that. I'm going to use my pulpit to try to help poor
people.”
Patrick asked Barkley whether he would
boycott the All-Star Game.
“Yes,” Barkley answered.
“I've talked to [NBA Commissioner]
Adam Silver. We need to move the All-Star Game. … I hope they
don't put me in a situation where I have to boycott the All-Star
Game. We need to move the All-Star Game.”
Silver has previously said that the NBA
needs a resolution to the law by the end of summer for the 2017
All-Star Game to remain in Charlotte.