The National Basketball Association recently relieved the city of Charlotte of their hosting duties for the 2017 NBA All-Star weekend due to a controversial LGBT law in North Carolina. Surprisingly, the team’s superstar, Kemba Walker, supports the relocation.
READ: NBA to move All-Star Game from Charlotte over LGBT law
The 26-year-old point guard said he was looking forward to helping host the event, but that he also respects the NBA’s authority as “a leader in social conversations and change.”
“I was excited that my basketball hometown was going to host [the All-Star Game], as was the whole city of Charlotte,” Walker wrote in The Player’s Tribune on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila). “But more important is inclusiveness for everyone, particularly our fans–of all races, genders and sexual orientations. The NBA took a stand on principle and equality. I support that.”
In his own words, the former Connecticut Husky acknowledged his place in society by conceding that NBA players “are not politicians,” but at the same time “not just athletes.”
“There is strength in numbers. And the more of us who speak up and use this platform we’ve been given to help drive change, the more difficult it will be for these injustices to continue,” he scribbled.
The one-time NCAA champion continued, “When you have more and more professional athletes standing for a cause, it gives other athletes, and other people around the globe, more confidence to do the same. You realize you’re not in this alone, and that’s empowering.”
Walker added that some of his colleagues were also strongly against the recent injustices surrounding their community, but that they haven’t spoken up yet because of how it may affect the way they’re perceived by fans and sponsors.
“It’s a risk, no doubt,” he said. “But, let’s be real: Those risks aren’t much in comparison to the risks that many people in communities across the nation take every day in trying to bring about change.”
Walker’s comments came a day after the Hornets’ team owner, Michael Jordan, condoned gun violence and donated $2 million to improve police-community relations in the city.
READ: NBA legend Jordan speaks out, condemns US gun violence
However, not everyone from the Hornets brass agree with the NBA’s recent ruling to move the All Star festivities away from the city.
In a lenghty tirade earlier this week, Hornets co-owner Felix Sabates expressed dissatisfaction with the league’s decision. Khristian Ibarrola
READ: Hornets co-owner irked at move of NBA All-Star game over LGBT law