In NBA All-Star spotlight, Utah looks to change perceptions

SALT LAKECITY (AP) — In the 1990s, Dallas Mavericks point guard Derek Harperfamously shot down an offer to be traded to the Jazz, quipping toESPN: “You go live in Utah.”

Two decadeslater, members of the Golden State Warriors squadmocked SaltLakeas a nightlife-free city that could “lull you tosleep.”

And twomonths ago, former Jazz star Donovan Mitchell,reflecting onhis time in Utah, said it was “draining” being a Black man in themostly white, deeply religious state.

As thespotlight turns toward Salt Lake City and Utahduringthisweekend’s NBA All-Star Game, business and political leaders areseeking to chip away at long-held notions — in basketball circlesand elsewhere — of the state as a peculiar, boring and homogenousplace that lags behind on LGBTQ- and race-related issues.

Their push toshowcase the city and state as increasingly diverse and vibrant hasbeen complicated by Utah’s enduring legacy as a religiousconservative stronghold, coupled with recent political developmentsat the intersection of race, gender and sports.

Just a yearago, a statewide ban implemented on transgender kids playing girls’sports raisedworriesthatorganizers of some events like the All-Star Game would think twiceabout coming to Utah.

Still,political leaders see efforts to make businesses and tourists feelwelcome as key to Utah’s continued growth and ability to attractprofitable trade shows and theWinter Olympics, which it isseen as likely to bid to host again in 2034.

“What happenswith those oddities that people think is, they’re very quicklydispelled when people actually come to Utah,” said Gov. SpencerCox, a Republican and avid Jazz fan.

Downtown, apop-up liquor store has been erected to serve fans this weekendbetween The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ flagshiptemple and the Jazz’s home arena. Team owner Ryan Smithistellinganyonewho will listen about the state’s robust tech sector andprogressive thinking. And the NBA is heavily advertising a pregameperformance featuringPost Malone, a Utah-based, heavilyface-tattooed rap star popular among residents.

Salt LakeCity has long been more liberal and religiously diverse than therest of Utah, a blue island in a sea of red. A majority of memberson the current left-leaning city councilidentify as LGBTQ andare people of color.

In the threedecades since 1993, the last time the All-Star Game last was here,the population has diversified and almost doubled, transforming itinto a thriving metropolis complete with the politics and problemsthat plague many midsize cities including pollution, housingshortages andhomelessness.

A skylinedense with apartments, office buildings and two downtown malls hassprung up between Temple Square and the nearby mountains. The 2002Olympics brought an influx of funding that helped build a lightrail system many visitors will use during All-Star festivities.

Mayor ErinMendenhall said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints andthe counterculture that rose up in response and continues to thriveboth contribute to the city’s social fabric.

“We may stillbe peculiar, but we’reminority Mormonnow,” shesaid.

The extensiveinfluence of the faith known widely as the Mormon church will stillbe apparent, yet changes within its culture and the influx ofthousands of secular residents may complicate how the expected150,000 All-Star visitors perceive Salt Lake City, said PatrickMason, a professor of religious studies at Utah StateUniversity.

“Anybody whovisits — especially for the first time — is going to be immediatelystruck by the Salt Lake Temple and the church’s holdings rightdowntown very close to the arena. This is, as a lot of people say,’Mormonism’s Vatican,” he said.

High-profilechurch members also demonstrate how the image the faith projectshas remained distinct while also becoming more assimilated into themainstream, he said.

“That reallygets reflected in the younger generation of entrepreneurs andpoliticians,” Mason added. “People like Cox and Smith areLatter-day Saints who are committed to their faith but also aresavvy people who grow up with the internet, plugged in to a globalculture.”

HostingAll-Star Weekend is a major opportunity in particular for Smith,who purchased the Jazz in 2020 after selling the survey-softwareprovider company that he founded, Qualtrics, for $8 billion.

“This is justa chance to really have a moment together. People definitely knowthat there’s something here,” Smith said. “It’s absolutely uniquein all the positive ways. I think the one thing that is beautifulabout Utah, that the people keep telling me from a wellnessstandpoint, ‘Utah is like where I’m at my best.’”

Since Smithattended part of 1993′s All-Star Weekend as a member of the Jazz’syouth basketball program, the NBA has cultivated a reputation forembracing progressive politics and social justice to a greaterextent than most other professional sports leagues.

The ban ontransgender athletes in girls’ sports didn’t end up costing Utahthe All-Star Game. But some fear marketing efforts could facechallenges as the state doubles down on socially conservativestances on matters of race, gender and sports. Last monthlawmakersbannedgender-affirmingcare for transgender youth, a policy being considered by lawmakersin a number of states across the country.

Utah hasamong the highest white populations of any state at 78% of its 3.3million residents, and less than 2% are Black. That lack of racialdiversity is long believed to have hurt efforts by the Jazz to lurefree agents and retain players.

Mitchell,after beingtradedto the Cavaliers last offseason, saidit took a lot of energy to confront aseriesofhighly public race-related experiences and the pushback he receivedin response. They included incidents of bullying against Blackstudents in Utah schools that hecalled“demoralizing”;adustupbetween him and the state Senate president overnew restrictions on how race and history could be taught; and thetime Mitchell said he was pulled over and “got an attitude from thecop” until the officer saw Mitchell’s ID and realized he was theJazz player.

“It’s nosecret there’s a lot of stuff that I dealt with being in Utah, offthe floor. ... I took on a lot because I felt like I could do it.But at some point, it became a lot to have to deal with,”hetoldtheESPN publication Andscape in December.

Some seeAll-Star weekend as a means of elevating social justice initiativesand changing Salt Lake City’s image through showcasingoft-overlooked pockets of diversity. Sheena Meade, CEO of the CleanSlate Initiative, helped organize a expungement clinic with theNBA’s social justice arm in the lead-up to the game, a year afterCox signed legislation to clear low-level convictions from people’scriminal records. She said the NBA’s presence in places regardlessof the prevailing local politics hashadtangibleimpacts.

“They aredoing more than lip service. They’re putting out a host of events,”Meade said. “What it means for the All-Star Game to come to a statelike Utah is it brings an immersion of culture and diversity andlifts up what’s happening on some social issues.”