NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced on Monday night that the league has canceled an in-arena promotion that the Atlanta Hawks planned for March 16 to celebrate Magic City, a famous Atlanta strip club that the Hawks referred to as an “iconic cultural institution.”
The following has been released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/jzbUW8t73Y
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) March 9, 2026
“When we became aware of the Atlanta Hawks’ scheduled promotion, we reached out to Hawks leadership to better understand their plans and rationale,” Silver said in the league’s statement on Monday. “While we appreciate the team’s perspective and their desire to move forward, we have heard significant concerns from a broad array of league stakeholders, including fans, partners and employees. I believe canceling this promotion is the right decision for the broader NBA community.”
The Hawks released a statement in response to the league’s decision.
— Atlanta HaWWWWWWks (@ATLHawks) March 9, 2026
“While we are disappointed in the NBA’s decision to cancel our Magic City Night promotion, we fully respect its decision. As a franchise, we remain committed to celebrating the best of Atlanta — with authenticity — in ways that continue to unite and bring us all together.”
The Hawks planned to pay tribute to Magic City during a game against the Orlando Magic by serving the adult entertainment club’s famous lemon pepper wings, selling exclusive merchandise, and having a halftime performance by Atlanta native T.I.
The T.I. performance will still happen, according to the Hawks.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE GAME:
◾️ Legendary rapper and ‘King of the South’ T.I. will perform at halftime as scheduled.
◾️ The limited-edition Peachtree themed hoodie will no longer be available for purchase at the game on March 16th. All pre-ordered merchandise will be honored and…
— Atlanta HaWWWWWWks (@ATLHawks) March 9, 2026
On March 2, San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet wrote a blog post accusing the Magic City promotion of contributing to “mistreatment of women” and suggested that the promotion should be canceled.
“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 wrote.
Stephen A. Smith, while admitting that he’s been to Magic City, supported Kornet’s thoughts, adding that “optics matter” for the NBA and the “inordinate amount of partners, sponsors, advertisers, etc., that connect with and associate themselves and ingratiate themselves with the NBA brand.”
Michelle Beadle noted that Magic City is “not just a titty bar” and added, “I’ve had enough of men telling us what we can and shouldn’t and what we should want and what we should need and how we should act.”
The NBA’s decision has been met by plenty of reaction on social media, especially while the league has been plagued by various issues that continue.
Ridiculous that *this* is where the NBA draws the line. https://t.co/dyJbeLS6RF
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) March 9, 2026
Oh come on… https://t.co/sYWAbrWJLX
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) March 9, 2026
What about the wings? Will anyone think about the wings? https://t.co/zcQPK5PlYS
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) March 9, 2026
dramatic af lol https://t.co/6Jd0ObSv28
— Ashley Nicole Moss (@AshNicoleMoss) March 9, 2026
kids don’t even know what Magic City is. so unless strippers were performing at halftime — this is mad dramatic of the league. people upset over hoodies and chicken wings? lol https://t.co/GT5UfAepd3
— Ashley Nicole Moss (@AshNicoleMoss) March 9, 2026
the list of the most impactful substack posts of all time now starts after Luke Kornet
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Can you get the hoodie? https://t.co/tZ7h7JwoGN
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) March 9, 2026
The NBA – which dedicated part of the 2023 All-Star Game to Karl Malone and had him come out and take photos with LeBron and Kareem – doesn’t want kids to be asking uncomfortable questions during their games. https://t.co/ntVhqwvRFx pic.twitter.com/45DRqRRw9D
— Velodus✨ (@velodus) March 9, 2026
The mention of league stakeholders here is hilarious.
Disney put the call in https://t.co/QfEfvkPbHK
— Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) March 9, 2026
Keep on gamblin’, though, folks! https://t.co/Jh5SHO7gZo
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) March 9, 2026
This statement was brought to you by FanDuel https://t.co/5RNi5gSjJD
— Reece (@DefaultReece) March 9, 2026