NBA cancels Atlanta Hawks controversial ‘Magic City Night’ promotion

The NBA has canceled the Atlanta Hawks ‘Magic City Night’ promotion. The event was in collaboration with a local strip club, and was supposed to be held on March 16.

Many have spoken out against the event, including NBA player Luke Kornet on a blog titled ‘Concerning the Atlanta Hawks,’ and the association has now taken action. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has released a statement concerning the promotion’s cancellation.

“When we became aware of the Atlanta Hawks’ scheduled promotion, we reached out to Hawks leadership to better understand their plans and rationale,” Silver said. “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 Hawks announced the event last month against the Orlando Magic, which was set to feature a live performance from rapper and Atlanta native T.I., along with special merchandise and food. Two flavors of the club’s highly-touted chicken wings were going to be available. The club went viral in 2020 when NBA player Lou Williams snuck out of the NBA bubble to travel to the event and purchase some lemon-pepper wings.

Atlanta made it clear in their announcement that no dancers would be performing at the event. Despite this, Kornet still wrote in his blog that the celebration of a strip club would “would reflect poorly on us as an NBA community, specifically in being complicit in the potential objectification and mistreatment of women in our society.”

Now, the event will not go ahead with the NBA making the final decision. The March 16 game vs. the Magic is still scheduled as planned. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET live on Peacock.

The Hawks are currently 33-31 overall this season and are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference — placing them 1.5 games ahead of the Charlotte Hornets for the last spot in the play-in. Their next mathup is set for Tuesday at home vs. the Dallas Mavericks.