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The NBA canceled the Atlanta Hawks’ planned Magic City Night promotion Monday, citing widespread concern from across the league about the event’s ties to the city’s well-known strip club, according to a report on ESPN.com.
The Hawks had scheduled the March 16 home game against the Orlando Magic as a tribute night honoring Magic City, a strip club long embedded in Atlanta’s hip-hop and celebrity culture. The team described the venue as an “iconic cultural institution” when it announced the event last month, and had planned a lineup that included Magic City’s lemon pepper wings, exclusive merchandise, and a halftime performance by Atlanta rapper T.I.
I believe canceling this promotion is the right decision for the broader NBA community.
NBA commissioner adam silver
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league moved in after hearing from a range of stakeholders.
“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,” Silver said in a statement. “I believe canceling this promotion is the right decision for the broader NBA community.”
The Hawks said they were disappointed but would abide by the league’s decision
“While we are very disappointed in the NBA’s decision to cancel our Magic City Night promotion, we fully respect its decision,” the team said. “As a franchise, we remain committed to celebrating the best of Atlanta – with authenticity – in ways that continue to unite and bring us all together.”
What’s still on for March 16
Not everything is off. T.I. will still perform at halftime, and the Hawks said wings will be available at State Farm Arena — though the team did not specify whether that includes the Magic City-branded lemon pepper wings the event had promoted. Pre-ordered merchandise will be delivered to customers, but the Magic City-themed hoodie won’t be sold at the game.
A planned live podcast recording featuring Hawks primary owner Jami Gertz, T.I., and Magic City founder Michael Barney has also been scrapped.
Criticism from inside the league
The most prominent public pushback came from San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet, who published a blog post on March 2 urging the Hawks to cancel the event. Kornet argued the NBA should not promote a strip club and cited concerns about the treatment of women in the adult entertainment industry.
“In its press release, the Hawks failed to acknowledge that this place is, as the business itself boasts, ‘Atlanta’s premier strip club,'” Kornet wrote. He called on the team to cancel the night “to ensure that the NBA remains a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment for everyone involved.”
The NBA did not name Kornet specifically in its statement, saying only that it heard from a “broad array” of stakeholders.
Gertz’s connection to Magic City
The Hawks’ ties to the club run deeper than a one-night promotion. Gertz, who is also a filmmaker and actor, produced “Magic City: An American Fantasy,” a five-part docuseries exploring the club’s history, its place in Black and hip-hop culture, and what it means to Atlanta.
“This collaboration and theme night is very meaningful to me after all the work that we did to put together ‘Magic City: An American Fantasy,'” Gertz said when the promotion was first announced.
Magic City has come up in NBA news before. In 2020, then-Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams was photographed at the club while on an approved leave from the NBA’s Orlando bubble, a trip he said was to pick up food. The club has a menu item, the “Louwill Lemon Pepper BBQ” wings, named after him.