Stan Van Gundy, president and head coach of the Detroit Pistons, thinks that the NBA should move the 2017 All-Star festivities from Charlotte. Via David Mayo of MLive:
“We went through this. People had their rationale for discriminating against blacks back in segregation,” Van Gundy, the Pistons’ president of basketball operations and head coach, said Monday. “I don’t care, religious liberty and all of that — look, that’s the same stuff that people brought up during the civil-rights movement. They’ll try to justify it with anything they have.
“We shouldn’t have the right in our country to discriminate against anybody and especially in this situation. And I think the league should take a stand.”
…
“That game should be moved if they don’t change the law. I’m really proud of, like, Bruce Springsteen moved his concert, I think that’s outstanding,” Van Gundy said, referring to the musician’s decision to cancel a Sunday concert in Greensboro, N.C., because of the state’s stance. “Look, we’re in 2016, and the idea that for any reason you can conjure up, you think you have the right to discriminate against people, I just think it’s against everything that we should stand for.
“I understand logistically it would be a major problem but so what? Sometimes standing up for things that are right makes things tougher. I don’t think the game should be there if they’re not going to change that law.”
Van Gundy’s comments come amidst controversy surrounding recent anti-LGBT legislation passed by the state of North Carolina.
Stephen Curry and Charles Barkley have also spoken on the issue.
