The Atlanta Hawks planned ‘Magic City Night’ for March 16 during a game against the Orlando Magic to “celebrate Atlanta’s iconic cultural institution.” The Hawks lined up a special edition hoodie, planned on having legendary Atlanta rapper T.I. perform at halftime, and were set to serve Magic City’s infamous Lemon Pepper wings.
NBA cancels ‘Magic City Night’ on Atlanta Hawks after Luke Kornet’s criticism
‘Magic City Night’ is no more for the Atlanta Hawks all thanks to Adam Silver and Luke Kornet.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
So much for that. The NBA canceled ‘Magic City Night’ a week before it was supposed to happen after criticism from San Antonio Spurs big man Luke Kornet. NBA commissioner Adam Silver did not like one of his teams honoring the famous strip club, and now it’s the celebration is over before it started. Here’s the statement from Silver on the decision:
Kornet’s blog post criticizing the Hawks for ‘Magic City Night’ started a wave of attention on the Hawks’ promotion. Silver ultimately decided he wasn’t okay with it, and ‘Magic City Night’ is no more.
Atlanta, the NBA, and Magic City have been intertwined publicly since Lou Williams admitted to getting the strip club’s Lemon Pepper wings during the pandemic, which earned him a 10-day quarantine when he returned to the bubble.
Magic City is part of Atlanta’s cultural identity. It seemed like the Hawks had a creative promotion tied to a local business that would help inject some excitement during the March doldrums of the season. It’s too bad the NBA wasn’t comfortable with it. Blame or credit Luke Kornet for amplifying the conversation around this one.
See More:
