At least two influential Christian leaders have raised their voices against the head of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for his "hypocrisy" and attempt to "bully" the American people into accepting and granting the demands of "sexual radicals."
The reaction came after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver threatened to pull the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte if North Carolina's state government does not remove or change the bathroom privacy law it recently enacted, LifeSite News reports.
North Carolina has become the bull's eye of radical gay activists after Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law a bill barring people from using public restrooms and changing facilities that do not correspond to their biological gender.
On April 21, Silver joined the LGBT activists in campaigning against the law, saying he will move the 2017 All-Star Game originally set in Charlotte somewhere else if North Carolina insists on keeping the law.
"A change in the law is necessary for us to play in the kind of environment that we think is appropriate for a celebratory NBA event," Silver told the Associated Press.
"They know what's at stake in terms of the All-Star Game," Silver said. "But at least at the moment, constructive engagement on our part is the best way to go as opposed to putting a gun to their head and saying 'do this or else.'"
Silver's statement stunned American Family Association President Tim Wildmon who swiftly lashed at the NBA commissioner for his "hypocrisy and bullying."
"Many Americans are sick and tired of being mocked and ridiculed by sexual radicals –and now they are being threatened by the NBA," Wildmon said.
"Before he carries out his threat against the city of Charlotte, perhaps Commissioner Silver should survey NBA fans or even the players themselves and ask how many of them are okay with men walking into women's bathrooms while wives and daughters are in there?" he said. "Then he might get a glimpse of how fringe his views really are."
Dr. Richard Land, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary, which is based in North Carolina, also accused Silver of being a hypocrite and a bully.
"The NBA wants to threaten North Carolina for its attempts to keep biologically sexual specific bathrooms, but wants to expand its product around the globe in countries where homosexuality is illegal," Land told LifeSite News.
"I have a message for the NBA," Land said. "North Carolina and its values are not for sale to the highest bidder, and we are not going to be intimidated or bullied by a sports conglomerate."
"Individual Christian athletes should follow their own consciences in dealing with such issues. Like all other American citizens, they should be free to express their opinions, live out their faith, and pursue happiness in the land of the free and the home of the brave—not the land of the intimidator and the home of the timid," Land added.
