The Atlanta Hawks tried to throw a party. Instead, they sparked a league-wide debate.
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Atlanta's "Magic City Night" promo had the NBA world buzzing this week. The team planned to celebrate the iconic Atlanta club with themed merch, appearances from local stars like T.I., and even the club's famous chicken wings.
But not everyone is clapping.
Spurs big man Luke Kornet went public with his frustration, writing a letter to the Hawks asking them to cancel the promotion altogether.
"The NBA should desire to protect and esteem women," Kornet wrote, arguing that honoring a strip club sends the wrong message. He said the event could make the league "complicit in the potential objectification and mistreatment of women."
Kornet didn't stop there. He called on the other 29 teams to hold Atlanta accountable, saying the celebration clashes with the league's responsibility to create a safe, family-friendly environment.
The Hawks, for their part, framed the night as a tribute to a "cultural institution" in Atlanta. Notably absent from the announcement was any direct 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
That omission, Kornet says, does not change the reality.
Now what was supposed to be a fun, local-flavor promotion has turned into a bigger conversation about values, optics, and where the NBA draws the line.
And suddenly, chicken wings are the least controversial thing on the menu.
