The Atlanta Hawks aimed to celebrate Atlanta’s vibrant nightlife. Instead, they ignited a significant debate across the NBA.
The Hawks’ promotional event, “Magic City Night,” generated immense chatter this week. The intention was to honor the iconic Atlanta establishment with themed merchandise, appearances from local stars like T.I., and even the well-known chicken wings from the club.
However, the response hasn’t been uniformly positive.
Spurs center Luke Kornet publicly expressed his concern and wrote a letter to the Hawks urging them to reconsider the promotion.
He argued that the NBA should aim to protect and honor women. Kornet stated that celebrating a strip club sends a harmful message, suggesting that the event could make the league “complicit in the potential objectification and mistreatment of women.”
He went further by calling on the league’s 29 other teams to hold the Hawks responsible, claiming that the event contradicts the league’s mission to foster a safe, family-friendly atmosphere.
The Hawks defended the initiative, framing it as a tribute to a significant “cultural institution” in Atlanta. Notably missing from their announcement was any explicit mention of Magic City being a strip club.
Luke Kornet is asking the Hawks to cancel their “Magic City Night,” saying that it’s disrespectful to women:
“The NBA should desire to protect and esteem women, many of whom work diligently every day to make this the best basketball league in the world… we should promote an… pic.twitter.com/C9eQDp6MLg
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 2, 2026
Kornet contended that this omission doesn’t change the underlying issues involved.
What was expected to be an enjoyable local celebration has transformed into a broader discussion about values, perception, and how the NBA defines its boundaries.
Suddenly, chicken wings are hardly the most controversial topic on the agenda.
