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The Atlanta Hawks' "Magic City Monday" promotion will not be happening.
The team announced on Monday, March 9 that after discussion with NBA commissioner Adam Silver, the March 16 promotion involving the famous Magic City strip club during a game against the Orlando Magic has been canceled.
After the announcement of the promotion, there were various NBA players and figures who criticized the choice to involve the strip club in a promotion -- while the Hawks were originally aiming to pay homage to a "iconic cultural institution" in Atlanta, pushback from Luke Kornet, Al Horford and more resulted in the event being canceled.
Here's what to know about the cancelation of "Magic City Monday."
MORE: Everything to know about the Hawks' announced "Magic City Monday" promotion
Why did the Hawks cancel Magic City Monday?
The NBA released a statement Monday that said the Hawks' "Magic City Monday" event had been canceled, including a statement from NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
In the statement, Silver said that the NBA reached out to the Hawks organization to understand their plans for the event, but "concerns" from around the league resulted in it being canceled.
"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. "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.”
Statement from NBA commissioner Adam Silver: “When we became aware of the Atlanta Hawks’ scheduled promotion, we reached out to Hawks leadership to better understand their plans and rationale. While we appreciate the team’s perspective and their desire to move forward, we have… https://t.co/mI3d9qvAF1
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 9, 2026Magic City Monday controversy
Earlier in the month, the Hawks announced a promotion for their March 16 game against the Magic: "Magic City Monday," which would be a "special one-night collaboration to celebrate the city’s iconic cultural institution Magic City," as the team's statement said.
As part of the planned promotion surround the famous Atlanta strip club, the team was planning to bring "the best of" Magic City to State Farm Arena, including Atlanta rapper T.I. performing at halftime, DJ Esco curating pregame music, a custom Magic City x Atlanta Hawks hoodie being released, and Magic City Kitchen serving its "world famous" lemon pepper wings in the arena.
The Hawks also invited fans to enter the arena early for a special live recording of the Hawks AF Podcast, which would have featured a conversation about the Magic City documentary and the club's impact on the city's music, sports, and culture.
However, the days following the announcement of the promotion resulted in some criticism. San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet was the most prominent example, sharing a post on Medium asking for the promotion to be canceled.
"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," Kornet wrote. "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."
What is Magic City?
Magic City is a famous strip club in Atlanta, which was in 1985 and is owned by Michael “Magic” Barney. The strip club has become a type of cultural institution for Atlanta, from being a venue where famous Atlanta hip-hop artists or other celebrities have elevated their careers or performed, to its fame for "Magic City Mondays."
The strip club was featured in a five-part STARZ docuseries, ‘Magic City: An American Fantasy,’ which was produced by Hawks’ Principal Owner, filmmaker and actor Jami Gertz.
NBA players that spoke out against Magic City Monday
Kornet was the first NBA player to publicly go against the Hawks' decision to hold the "Magic City Monday" promotion, writing that others "throughout the league" were also surprised by the Hawks' decision to honor Magic City.
Luke Kornet was asked what made him passionate to write his substack essay about ATL's Magic City Night, knowing the possible backlash from social media...
"I really just saw the statement last week, the announcement by the Hawks. Just in terms of like the public voice as it… pic.twitter.com/39l5Hl7HnH
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Luke Kornet is requesting the Hawks cancel tonight's "Magic City Monday" theme night with the iconic Atlanta strip club.
"The NBA should desire to protect and esteem women." pic.twitter.com/8gOuMlQ5zq
Another NBA veteran, and a former Hawks All-Star, backed Kornet shortly after. Al Horford shared a social media post of Kornet's message with the caption, "Well said Luke."
Well said Luke. pic.twitter.com/pGHxezOC1b
— Al Horford (@Al_Horford) March 3, 2026
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