Hawks will not cancel ‘Magic City’ event despite Luke Kornet’s public plea
The Atlanta Hawks will not cancel their “Magic City Monday” event despite resistance from the NBA player public.
If you’re not familiar with the story, the Hawks announced last week that their March 16 game against the Magic would be preceded by a celebration of “Atlanta’s iconic cultural institution, Magic City.”
“Prior to the game, Hawks principal owner, filmmaker and actor Jami Gertz will present a special introduction from the Hawks AF podcast,” the press release states. “Last year, Magic City celebrated its 40th anniversary with a five-part STARZ documentary series, “Magic City: An American Fantasy,” executive produced by Gertz alongside Grammy Award-winning music mogul and Atlanta native Jermaine Dupri.”
The press release left out the part about Magic City being a strip club. Spurs backup center Luke Kornet posted a blog this week disputing that fact.
“I would like to respectfully ask the Atlanta Hawks to cancel this promotional night with Magic City,” Kornet wrote.
“The NBA should desire to protect and value women, many of whom work diligently every day to make it the best basketball league in the world. We must promote an atmosphere that is protective and respectful of the daughters, wives, sisters, mothers and partners we know and love.
“Allowing this evening to proceed without protest would reflect poorly on us as an NBA community, particularly in being complicit in the potential objectification and mistreatment of women in our society.
“Regardless of how a woman finds her place in the adult entertainment industry, many in this space experience abuse, harassment and violence that they should never be subjected to.
“I would like to encourage the league, its owners, employees and fans to hold the Atlanta Hawks to a higher standard of what they deem worthy of promoting.”
Golden State Warriors center Al Horford took to social media to express his support for Kornet’s statement.
During San Antonio’s shoot-around in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Kornet explained his reasons for writing the blog and said he hasn’t spoken to anyone in the league since it was posted.
“I just saw the statement last week, the Hawks’ announcement. Just in terms of the public voice as far as, I feel like it doesn’t really represent what I know myself and a lot of other people in the NBA have felt,” Kornet said. “I think I just wanted to make sure that some of the discussion was expressed.”
The Hawks are 31-31 this season and currently sit in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.
