By Mallory Mattingly
San Antonio Spurs star Luke Kornet took against immorality, speaking out against the Atlanta Hawks’ upcoming “Magic City Monday” event.
“This week, the Atlanta Hawks ‘announced a special one-night collaboration to celebrate the city’s iconic cultural institution, Magic City,’ during the team’s home game against Orlando on Monday, March 16,” Kornet wrote on Medium earlier this week. “In its press release, the Hawks failed to acknowledge that this place is, as the business itself boasts, ‘Atlanta’s premier strip club.’ Given this fact, I would like to respectfully ask that the Atlanta Hawks cancel this promotional night with Magic City.”
The center continued, “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 atmosphere that is protective and respectful of the daughters, wives, sisters, mothers, and partners that we know and love.”
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The pre-game event features Hawks’ principal owner, filmmaker and actress Jami Gertz as part of a special live recording of the “Hawks AF Podcast.” Gertz produced a five-part STARZ docuseries titled MAGIC CITY: AN AMERICAN FANTASY last year to celebrate 40 years of Magic City.
“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,” Gertz told the NBA.
Although the Hawks see this night as a celebration, Kornet argues that the team is “being complicit in the potential objectification and mistreatment of women in our society.”
“Regardless of how a woman finds her way into the adult entertainment industry, many in this space experience abuse, harassment and violence to which they should never be subjected,” the athlete wrote.
Kornet asked the Hawks to cancel their “Magic City Night.”
“I and others throughout the league were surprised by and object to the Hawks’ decision,” he shared. “We desire to provide an environment where fans of all ages can safely come and enjoy the game of basketball and where we can celebrate the history and culture of communities in good conscience. The celebration of a strip club is not conduct aligned with that vision.”
“Please join me in petitioning the Atlanta Hawks to cancel this promotion so as to ensure that the NBA remains a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment for everyone involved,” Kornet concluded.
We applaud Kornet’s effort to push back against an event that promotes immorality and hope his petition finds success.
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