The NBA has officially stepped in to cancel a controversial Atlanta Hawks promotion celebrating a famous local strip club following a wave of intense public criticism.
League Commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement on Monday confirming that the ‘Magic City Monday’ event scheduled for March 16 would no longer move forward.
Silver’s statement read: ‘When we became aware of the Atlanta Hawks’ scheduled promotion, we reached out to Hawks leadership to better understand their plans and rationale.
‘While we appreciate the team’s perspective and their desire to move forward, we have heard significant concerns from a broad array of league stakeholders, including fans, partners and employees.
‘I believe canceling this promotion is the right decision for the broader NBA community,’ the statement read.
The promotion, which was intended to honor the iconic adult entertainment venue Magic City, had sparked debate across the basketball world since its announcement.
The NBA has officially stepped in to cancel a controversial Atlanta Hawks promotion celebrating a famous local strip club
Magic City has been a staple of Atlanta’s culture and is known for their lemon pepper wings
The backlash was ignited by San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet, who published a viral blog post calling on the Hawks to scrap the event out of respect for women.
‘The NBA should desire to protect and esteem women, many of whom work diligently every day to make this the best basketball league in the world,’ Kornet wrote on Medium.
He argued that celebrating a strip club was a ‘poor look’ for the league and risked making the NBA ‘complicit in the potential objectification and mistreatment of women.’
Kornet’s stance was quickly supported by Golden State Warriors veteran Al Horford, who shared the post on social media with the caption: ‘Well said Luke.’
Despite the growing pressure, the Hawks had initially stood by the promotion, with principal owner Jami Gertz describing Magic City as an ‘iconic cultural institution.’
The team had planned to sell co-branded ‘Magic City’ hoodies and serve the club’s world-famous lemon pepper wings at State Farm Arena during the game against the Magic.
The promotional move provided divisive within the basketball community. Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was one of the few stars who sided with the event organizers as he branded stripping a form of ‘art.’
Adam Silver’s statement read: ‘When we became aware of the Atlanta Hawks’ scheduled promotion, we reached out to Hawks leadership to better understand their plans and rationale.’
The team had planned to sell co-branded ‘Magic City’ hoodies and serve the club’s world-famous lemon pepper wings at State Farm Arena during the game against the Magic
‘I think to point out that they have esteem issues because that’s the line of work (that the dancers) chose, I actually think is less protective of women because you’re condemning something that’s actually an art,’ he said on The Draymond Green Show.
‘I don’t know if you’ve ever been, but if you see it in action, it’s actually a form of art, that some choose to indulge in and some choose not to indulge in.
‘[Cardi B is] selling out stadiums and her background would be that. I don’t think Cardi B has esteem issues.
‘So, I think that’s actually a negative vantage point on these women that are in this line of work; that because they choose this line of work that they have esteem issues.’
