The Atlanta Hawks are holding a promotional night called Magic City Night on March 16, celebrating Magic City, a famed Atlanta-based strip club. , city-themed merchandise, and the venue's iconic lemon pepper chicken wings. ' The Hawks are facing the Orlando Magic on March 16.
The Hawks are pressing ahead with Magic City Night despite backlash. The team's press release avoided using the term 'strip club,' instead focusing on the establishment's deep-rooted history within Atlanta's nightlife scene. Hawks principal owner Jami Gertz said, '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'.
' Jami Gertz was one of the producers of a five-part STARZ docuseries, 'Magic City: An American Fantasy' that explored the club's history and its place in both hip-hop and Black culture. I. to perform at halftime.
I. said, 'We doin’ this one for the city ... ' There will be a special live pregame recording of a podcast about the club and impact it has on music, culture and sports.
Magic City will be serving two versions of the lemon pepper wings, including the ones named for former Hawks guard Lou Williams. It remains unknown what specific measures, if any, the Hawks are taking to address concerns about objectification or mistreatment of women during Magic City Night, and whether the event will include any explicit adult entertainment or is focused solely on cultural and culinary aspects. San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet led backlash against Magic City Night.
Luke Kornet wrote an open letter urging the Hawks to scrap Magic City Night. Luke Kornet claimed the event makes the NBA 'complicit' in the mistreatment of women. ' In contrast, Draymond Green backed the Hawks' decision to hold Magic City Night.
' Draymond Green said, '[Cardi B is] selling out stadiums and her background would be that. I don't think Cardi B has esteem issues. ' The extent of backlash within the NBA beyond Luke Kornet and Draymond Green's comments is unclear, and the official NBA stance or policy on team promotions involving adult entertainment venues has not been disclosed.
The event proceeds as planned with its cultural and culinary offerings.