The backlash first started when San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet took to the internet to share his thoughts on Magic City night, with Al Horford joining in too.
ATLANTA — The NBA announced Wednesday it has canceled the highly-anticipated Magic City Monday promotional night scheduled for the Atlanta Hawks game on March 16 against the Orlando Magic.
In a statement, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league contacted team leadership after learning about the planned promotion to better understand its purpose and details.
“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.
The Hawks released a statement on the NBA’s cancellation of its night:
“While we are very disappointed in the NBA’s decision to cancel our Magic City Night promotion, we fully respect their decision. 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.”
Fans that pre-ordered the Magic City sweatshirt merchandise will still receive it, but the apparel will not be sold at the upcoming game. Atlanta rapper T.I. will still perform at halftime.
The backlash first started when San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet took to the internet to share his thoughts on the special-themed night, writing in a blog post on Medium.
Kornet said the Hawks failed to acknowledge in its release that Magic City “as the business itself boasts, ‘Atlanta’s premier strip club.'”
He wrote that others throughout the NBA were shocked by the decision made by the Hawks and object to the promotion, saying that the NBA and its players “desire to provide an environment where fans of all ages can safely come and enjoy the game of basketball and where we can celebrate the history and culture of communities in good conscience.”
“The celebration of a strip club is not conduct aligned with that vision. Please join me in petitioning the Atlanta Hawks to cancel this promotion so as to ensure that the NBA remains a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment for everyone involved,” he wrote.
Soon after his post, former Hawks standout Al Horford, who played in Atlanta for a decade, took to social media saying that he agreed with Kornet and that the Hawks should cancel Magic City night.
Silver added that canceling the promotion was the right decision for the broader NBA community.
Magic City put out a statement on Tuesday saying that they respected the NBA’s “complex” decision.
State Farm Arena was going to feature Magic City’s famous lemon pepper wings at multiple concession stands throughout the game, made extra famous by former Atlanta Hawk and South Gwinnett High School alum Lou Williams getting in trouble during the COVID NBA bubble by going to Magic City to get the iconic wings which earned him the infamous nickname “Lemon Pepper Lou.”
The NBA did not provide any further comment on the cancellation.
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