The 66th NBA All-Star Game tips off  Sunday night at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The league moved it from Charlotte, North Carolina, to protest the Republican-controlled legislature’s so-called “bathroom bill” that required transgender people to use the facilities corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificates. Players, coaches, owners and the NBA itself all seem to be speaking out more on politics these days. One reason may be because the players have a strong union defending their right to free speech as well as a certain level of job security, as long as the star athletes are taking the lead. 

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