NBA world split by Luke Kornet's comments on Hawks collab with strip club

A debate is rising online after the Atlanta Hawks announced a collaboration night with a premier strip club in the city last week.

The Atlanta Hawks and Magic City, two Atlanta icons, are partnering for "Magic City Monday," a celebration of a cultural institution during the team's game against Orlando Magic on March 16.

The night will include a live taping of the Hawks AF podcast discussing a recent Starz documentary about the club, as well as a performance from T.I. and Magic City's famous lemon pepper chicken wings.

"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,'" Jami Gertz, producer of the documentary and part-owner of the Hawks said in the release. "The iconic Atlanta institution has made an incredible impact on our city and its unique culture."

But now online discourse, led by a blog attributed to Spurs player Luke Kornet, is calling the event inappropriate.

What did Luke Kornet say about Magic City and the Hawks?

Kornet posted a blog on Medium on March 2, and said the Hawks failed to mention Magic City was a strip club in their press release.

"Given this fact, I would like to respectfully ask that the Atlanta Hawks cancel this promotional night with Magic City," Kornet wrote.

He said the event reflects poorly on the NBA, which "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," Kornet said.

A spokesperson for the Atlanta Hawks declined to comment on Kornet's remarks.

He went on to write that the collaboration ultimately makes the NBA complicit in the objectification and possible mistreatment of women, many of whom Kornet says find their way into adult entertainment through abuse, harassment and violence.

"I and others throughout the league were surprised by and object to the Hawks' decision. 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," Kornet wrote.

Kornet's blog called 'performative,' while others agree

Kornet's comments have split the internet, with some praising his stance while others called it "performative allyship."

Sports social media influencer Mariah Rose said on X if Kornet chooses to take a stance on Magic City Monday while ignoring the league's "lax" policy on domestic violence that she calls "inconsistent," then maybe his concerns weren't truly about making a safe space for women in the NBA.

"I can hear where he's coming from, like he's trying to protect women, but we need women to be protected from your co-workers, we need women to be protected from that," Rose said in a video. "Magic City, we have other fish to fry for sure."

The issue also split the panel of Speakeasy, a late-night sports podcast. While half of the panel argued Magic City was "part of the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Falcons' culture," the other half argued NBA games should be a place families should come together to enjoy the game.

David Aldridge, a senior columnist at The Athletic, wrote on Feb. 28 that "there are worse things to be vexed about these days" than the Hawks and Magic City partnership.

Yes, Magic City is a strip club and that detail was notably absent from promotional material, Aldridge said, "but Magic City has also been in business for 40 years" and has had both "impact and longevity."

"It has been central to the development of the rap, trap and hip-hop scene in the city, which has produced a slew of multi-million-selling artists in the last 20 years: T.I., Migos, Jermaine Dupri, 2 Chainz, Killer Mike, Big Boi, Future and numerous others," Aldridge wrote.

Magic City Monday will take place on March 16 at 7 p.m. at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA world split on Luke Kornet comments about Hawks and 'Magic City'