A planned promotional night by Atlanta’s NBA franchise for the city’s most famous strip club has drawn objections from one professional basketball player, who thinks the event will send the wrong message concerning the league’s respect for women. Now, his social media post has sparked online discussions about misogyny, sex work, race, culture and potential double standards concerning male professional athletes’ treatment of women.
Spurs player calls for Hawks to cancel ‘Magic City Night’
San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet posted a letter about the Hawks’ upcoming “Magic City Night” promotion, scheduled for the team’s March 16 home game against the Orlando Magic. The Magic City promotion is slated to include a performance by Atlanta-based rap superstar T.I. and opportunities for fans to purchase Magic City hoodies and the club’s famous chicken wings. Kornet, arguing that the team’s promotion didn’t acknowledge that Magic City is “Atlanta’s premiere strip club,” urged the team to cancel the promotion.
“The NBA should desire to protect and esteem women,” Kornet said, arguing, “Allowing this night to go forward without protest would reflect poorly on us as an NBA community, specifically in being complicit in the potential objectification and mistreatment of women in our society,” Kornet called on others to join him in petitioning the Hawks to cancel the promotion.
Kornet has played for several NBA teams since initially signing with the New York Knicks in 2017. He has played most of his NBA career with the Boston Celtics, including winning a championship with the team in 2024, and he’s currently in the first season of a four-year, $41 million contract with San Antonio. Although Kornet isn’t a household name for most NBA fans, he has garnered attention across news sources and social media, with many people objecting to his stance and others agreeing with him.
“Luke Kornet is right,” reads a response on X, formerly Twitter. “People can think it’s hatin, people can think the NBA has bigger things to worry about. But why in the hell is the NBA actively promoting a strip club during a professional basketball game where kids will be in attendance.”
Another comment mentioned the promotion is because Magic City’s wings “are a staple ATL food,” and “Luke Kornet is not right he actually does not know anything about the city nor should he be talking about it.”
“It’s ONE night where they’re selling wings and hoodies That’s it,” someone else shared, adding, “They promote gambling and allow abusers to play in this league no consequence but now it’s think pieces over 1 night in the association.”
Debates about athletes and protecting women
“Has he ever said anything about how the league protects and enables women abusers?” sportscaster Chris Williamson asked about Kornet’s stance.
“They let abusers off scott free and push predatory gambling apps on children but yeah selling wings and merch is where luke kornet should hang his hat on,” another commenter mentioned.
Hoops for Hotties host Mariah Rose posted, “Luke Kornet is being performative if he’s only outraged by Magic City Monday lmao,” with a video mentioning, “We need women to be protected from your coworkers,” referring to athletes committing violence against women.
Others supported Kornet’s stance against these complaints.
“Condemning something doesn’t mean you condone everything else,” one reply said in defense of Kornet. “It’s like saying free Palestine and someone else asks “what about Iran?” like it’s a dumb argument.”
Discussing morality and ‘culture’
Although Kornet, who’s married with children, has been vocal about his Catholic faith in the past, sports reporter Tom Petrini noted that Kornet raised his objection “without raising religion or demonizing sex workers.”
Nonetheless, some have interpreted Kornet’s objection as moralizing.
“Sex work is work Luke Kornet!” one commenter replied.
“I’d argue this is a very not woke/puritan point to take from Kornet,” another shared. “Sex work is still work, and Atlanta is dang near the club capital of the country. This is like the Pelicans having a Jazz night, or Utah having a dirty soda night, it’s the cities culture.”
The idea that Kornet is an outsider commenting on culture — either Black culture or Atlanta culture — has been raised by many in response to his stance.
“Luke Kornet is like the white supremacist guy on Jerry Springer that told the black person that black is beautiful so he should only date black people,” another critic of Kornet’s stance said. “To some that might sound like solidarity if you refuse to engage with the context around their political end goals.”
Noting that Kornet “got jumped by…women and people saying he’s intruding on ‘black culture’???” someone asked, “Since when are strip clubs black culture???”
It remains to be seen if Kornet’s stance and the publicity he’s raised will cause the Hawks or the NBA to rethink the upcoming Magic City promotion. Regardless of the outcome, however, Kornet’s stance has plenty of people talking, bringing attention to the event and to the league, even if it’s not the type of publicity the NBA expected.