Jason Collins tells students to continue to push on social and LGBT issues

Jason Collins, the former NBA player who made history in 2013 as “the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport,” as he said in a Sports Illustrated cover story, has continued to speak out. “I try to have as many conversations as I can with people to change our society and have a positive impact on someone’s life,” he said.

At Johnson C. Smith University, a historically black university in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday, Collins’ main message to students was clear: “I remember listening to stories from my grandmother who grew up in the segregated South; she grew up in upstate Louisiana. Her telling me how hard it was for her to first vote … hearing those stories and the sacrifices of the people who have come before me, this is important because the people in power fought so hard for us not to have it, whether you’re a woman or a minority, they didn’t want us to have this. So that tells you right there how important it is to vote.”

College Sports in North Carolina Are Now Feeling the Fallout From HB2


CHARLOTTE, NC — The fallout from HB2 has now reached into North Carolina’s love of college sports after the NCAA announced they will pull seven postseason events from the state. WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis weighs in on the the decision, HB2, and how it is shaping the race for Governor.

The NBA moves forward as North Carolina drifts back

Not even its storied basketball history and inevitable disappointment for legend and Charlotte Hornets chairman Michael Jordan could stand in the way of North Carolina’s rightward drift. The NBA has moved the 2017 NBA All-Star Game from Charlotte, making it hardly the first but simply the latest and surely the highest-profile casualty of House Bill 2, the so-called “bathroom bill,” which regulates the restrooms transgender folks use – and so much more.

Lawsuits, Government Overreach, and House Bill 2


CHARLOTTE, NC — The battle is on for LGBT rights, state’s rights, and the overall feeling of government overreach as dueling lawsuits over North Carolina’s House Bill 2 take center stage. WCCB’s Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis weighs in on what many are now calling the next Civil War.