Rep. Robert Pittenger is accusing the National Basketball Association of “hypocrisy” for pulling the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte, North Carolina, but continuing to do business in China.
In a letter sent Thursday to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Mr. Pittenger said he recently met with constituencies from China, who told him about the government’s policy of “forcefully harvesting organs” and regular “oppression of religious minorities.”
“Meanwhile, the NBA will start selling tickets for preseason games in China next week,” Mr. Pittenger, a North Carolina Republican, said in the letter.
“Is the NBA implying that China’s abhorrent violation of basic human rights is acceptable, but North Carolina saying men shouldn’t use the girls’ locker room is a bridge too far?” he asked. “What is the NBA’s true priority? The unmistakable hypocrisy is clear to me.”
Ryan T. Anderson, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said the NBA’s decision is yet another example of “Big Business shoving its set of values on a state that has taken a responsible approach to the sensitive issue involving bathrooms.”
“What’s critical is that any rule regarding transgender persons address the privacy and safety concerns of everyone involved, especially children and students,” Mr. Anderson said in a statement.
The basketball league on Thursday announced it would no longer play next year’s All-Star Game in Charlotte, in response to a state law regulating intimate public facilities on the basis of biological sex.
The NBA said the law discriminates against transgender people, who wish to use the restrooms and locker rooms of the opposite sex, and creates a hostile climate for the All-Star Game festivities.
“While we recognize that the NBA cannot choose the law in every city, state, and country in which we do business, we do not believe we can successfully host our All-Star festivities in Charlotte in the climate created by HB2,” the league said in a statement.
A new host city for the midseason match-up has not been announced.
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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