Hornets and NBA say Charlotte may get 2019 All-Star Game

Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan, team president Fred Whitfield, and the NBA released statements on the league’s decision to pull the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte in light of North Carolina’s insistence that House Bill 2 won’t be stopped.

But the best news? Charlotte will get with 2019 All-Star Game.*

*assuming, as Silver put it, “there is an appropriate resolution to this matter”

It’s bittersweet, sure, but it’s the best we can hope for. With a gubernational election on Nov. 8, 2016, it’s possible Gov. Pat McCrory changes his stance in an attempt to sway voters. If he doesn’t, he runs a high risk of losing his job as governor when the good people of North Carolina cast their ballots. House Bill 2 and the resulting drama it’s caused will be a key issue in many voters’ minds.

You can read the statements from Jordan, Whitfield, and the NBA below.

From Jordan:

From Whitfield:

From the NBA:

My guess is that in one way or another, Charlotte gets the 2019 All-Star Game. After all, with the city’s terrible luck with all things basketball and its $27.5 million investment in improvements for Time Warner Cable Arena — which the NBA necessitated for Charlotte to get the game in the first place — the league risks alienating Hornets fans by outright denying them an All-Star Game.

Still, the state government will need to make some changes for this to happen. Let’s hope it does.