[Jason Dumas] Luke Kornet created some waves nationally when he urged the Atlanta Hawks to cancel its “Magic City Night”, saying that it’s disrespectful to women.
Old guy here life long nba watcher and college bball player…I think he’s right. Not because of the purity aspect or any religious nonsense.
The nba should not be having these kind of sponsors. It’s tone deaf and this also includes polymarket and gambling stuff. Bad look for the league long term. Let the players behave badly and the orgs be corporate nothing entities like James Naismith intended. (Last part /s)
If you know about Atlanta culture, it’s not that tone deaf. Magic City is way more than a strip club within the city. It’s been a cultural epicenter.
Magic City is way more than a strip club within the city.
But to the rest of the world, it’s just a strip club.
The rest of the world isn’t doing a Magic City Night, so it’s irrelevant what the rest of the world thinks of it.
Exactly this lol
so it’s irrelevant what the rest of the world thinks of it.
It is? Wow. They should have used this technique for the Malice at the Palace.
“Fighting is part of Detroit’s culture, so it doesn’t matter what the rest of the world thinks about it.”
And that’s how Reddit solved optics within a large, public facing entertainment company. Surely ignoring the opinions of millions of people and sweeping it under the rug as it being localized will make any issues just immediately disappear!
What the fuck kind of comparison is this? hey yeah honoring that club that is huge for the community is the same as a team brawl spilling into the stands and hurting fans
But the leagues image is affected by what teams do
The hawks are suppose to be a team for atlanta
Good thing this event is happening in Atlanta and not the rest of the world, huh?
James Harden burner
Then it looks like you don’t have to go or watch the Atlanta Hawks that night
I’m pretty sure the NBA isn’t having a Magic City night in Seattle for the Supersonics, right? Mostly because they’re not a team but yea
I don’t think I’m allowed to say what I think of a culture in which a strip club is a major pillar, at least on here.
Say it with your chest big man don’t be a little wimp now
A strip club is something you might do once in a while when you’re fucked up with your friends. If it’s anything more than that you probably have your priorities in the wrong place.
You thought you “weren’t allowed” to say that?
Strip clubs are inherently misogynistic and objectify women.
Atlanta has an overly freaked out culture and I think American culture in the south really pushes sexuality and gender roles onto children too early in a way that’s freakish while also condemning the LGBT community for simply existing in the presence of children.
I’ll say it for your, such a culture is inherently misogynistic.
Wait, what’s misogynistic about objectifying women?
/s
A pole of the community, if you will.
Which is so dumb. I’ve been there it’s in such a bad neighborhood there are armed security outside with legit machine guns lol. But ya definitely a place to be proud of.
I went there the last time I went to Atlanta. I seriously dont get it. Girls were cool but its kind of a hole in the wall.
Disrespectful to Atlanta and it’s people acting like this is the case. There’s a million things to better represent the city than a strip club.
It’s still a strip club. Are we gonna have corner man weed night too?
Magic City is definitely culturally important, but that doesn’t mean it belongs at an NBA game
Cookies is an official sponsor of usc basketball so uhh
And I disagree with that too.
I’m not even some culture war guy. Totally fine with all of that existing. I’m just not in favor of weed, gambling, and strip clubs being marketed to kids. It just seems degenerate to me
Edit: and there’s even a difference between having a sponsor and having “weed night” where you give out and sell collab merch
It just seems degenerate to me
It is.
Before I judge without knowledge, in what way is it a “cultural epicenter”, besides naked women, drinks and food?
Everyone in the metro area knows Magic City. Even people who have never seen the inside of a strip club in their life. White, black, Latino, gangster, nerd, whatever, they all know Magic City. It’s kind of hard to explain if you don’t live here, but it is genuinely as well known as the World of Coke and Georgia Aquarium. It’s absolutely a cultural icon of the city and I’m tired of these threads of people just chalking it up as another strip club where Lou Williams went that one time.
it has spearheaded some of the most popular music artists, comedy acts n overall entertainment acts from atlanta throughout its 40 year history. it’s much more than jus a strip club to people from atlanta, its a cultural center point
people go there. what else is a cultural epicenter?
Music. Pivotal in breaking a lot of artists/records over the last 30+ years, especially Atlanta artist.
Lemon pepper wings as a flavor was popularized because of them. Also its ground zero for most of the atlanta music scene. The night is really just to sell a bunch of chicken wings and listen to 00s atlanta trap music while watching the hawks play.
The strippers are literally the last thing on everyone’s mind when celebrating magic city.
Then what does it say about Atlanta culture to have its epicenter in a place where women entertain men by stripping their clothes? I’m not from the Us so it’s a genuine question
That is incredibly sad
I feel like this about spearmint rhino in Vegas, man that place is magic. You go in to experience the culture, and bam, a couple hrs later when you leave magically 12hrs have passed.
How so?
God I fucking hate polymarket. So predatory.
Legal but not mainstream is the way. Just don’t pretend alcohol gambling and strip clubs are a normal activity (even if they are)
The NBA got no soul anymore. They’ll sell just for the money at this point; DraftKings, Saudi Arabia, now strip clubs.
Wait how is it “not because of purity” and “the NBA should not have these kinds of sponsors”?
Who knew Luke Kornett would be headline for a day
Just wait for the playoffs.
The Kornet Kontest was not on my 2026 bingo card.
I’m out of the loop, what’s the hawks magic city night?
They celebrate a strip club called magic city that night
Everything else aside, does seem like an unusual theme night
Especially since the NBA pivoted to be “family friendly”
Yeah gambling is a family activity now
Genuinely even hate that strip clubs are considered as bad as gambling.
The only issue with them is the exploitative working conditions and that’s everything under capitalism, not a problem exclusive to strippers
Neither should be marketed to kids
Sexual exploitation is a different thing
This might be controversial but I think both are bad.
So a place that has regular workplace exploitation AND sexual exploitation is double bad then, right?
I feel like I’m taking crazy pills reading these posts about this the last two days. Yes gambling bad. So we should then just have everything allowed?
Then someone comments we should legalize sex workers so obviously the nba should have celebratory strip club night?
It’s weird as fuck to have a strip club night for your team. Why is everyone caught up in whataboutism which just makes people seem like they want this.
Yeah man. The industry that is well known for trafficking women and children is 100% better than FanDuel.
The sex work industry is horrendous for both men and women dude, I’m not trynna hear otherwise. In a vaccuum there’s nothing wrong with sex work but unfortunately we don’t live in a vaccuum we live in the real world where young women are groomed into this lifestyle, sexually and physically abused and harassed, and they are treated like shit. Why is anyone even trying to justify an NBA team celebrating a strip club just because they think gambling is worse. They are both terrible, neither should be in the league, one being “worse” doesn’t make the other one ok
Both are scummy in that they designed to exploit the user based on urges and addictions
The exploitation of strip clubs is not the same as that of an office worker in a 9-5 homie lol. Yes they are both subject to exploitation, and sex workers should not be demonized for their profession, but the industry as it exists is full of sexual harassment, abuse, assault, and various forms of degrading coercion
Some of the women are trafficked. That is far worse than gambling.
Just because one vice is suddenly okay doesn’t mean we need to give into the other vices. We should continue to push for a reversal on gambling while not allowing further degradations.
Gambling is family friendly”?
Adam Silver: yes
as family friendly as can be while also making as much money as possible at all costs
Anything that makes money is family friendly.
Til stripping is family friendly
Who cares what the NBA purports to be. They can pretend all the players are perfectly PC all they want, that doesn’t make it true.
Another example of the hypocrisy: Knicks new sponsor ‘experience Abu Dhabi’, UAE homosexuality is punishable by death. Yet they also host an annual Pride night. Make it make sense.
Not one Knicks media person has questioned this sponsorship deal.
NBA entering it’s ‘attitude era’
It’s a gigantic part of the music scene in Atlanta, which is itself a gigantic part of the rap/hip hop scene. Artists will literally demo tracks at Atlanta strip clubs to see what sort of reaction they get
That doesn’t change the fact that its a strip club though
I think they’re just answering the WHY part. Not necessarily advocating it. Because Magic City is unironically a cultural touchstone for Atlanta, that people associate with the city
The team owner’s wife produced a docuseries about the club.
“I gotta go, we got cows”
Yeah a lot of people saying he’s virtue signaling but I understand where he’s coming from, this is about as weird of a theme as you can get.
not an attack on you but I don’t understand the negative connotation of the term “virtue signaling’. like yeah he’s signaling that these are the virtues that are important to him. celebrating black history month or going to s museum would also be considered virtue signaling
Give it a Google, there’s a good article from David Aldridge if you have a subscription to The Athletic.
They’re not having dancers perform at the game or anything, they’re celebrating it as a 40yo locally owned and operated cultural institution that has launched artists like TI, Big Boi, 2Chainz and shaped the broader culture of the city. The theme night consists of having the clubs owner on a pregame podcast, providing a suite for clubs employees to enjoy the game, giving out a city edition hoodie, and serving the clubs wings famously named after Lou Williams
You don’t know much about Atlanta then
I really don’t. This is all actually very interesting to me. Are the strip clubs bigger/nicer than average since it’s a more important part of the culture.
There is a lot more to that club than just stripping.
Is it like the buccees of strip clubs?
That a literally the best way to describe it! The one and only time I’ve been in my life was an experience like no other. Main thing being I felt broke af because of the amount of money “normal” people (men and women) were throwing around. But I got the significance of the place seeing all walks of life there. People just coming to get food, a hair cut, or sitting at the bar watching sports with their back to the dancers.
Haircut!? Goddamn
The wings are legitimately good
They could cut the strip club part off and still have a successful restaurant
Yes
Bigger/nicer no. More a part of the culture yes
I don’t know if it’s more or less weird that they’re doing it on a night they play the Magic.
Fans are into though. Most expensive resale tickets rest of season for a matchup thats usually one of the cheapest.
How do they celebrate it? lol
Lap dances for season ticket holders at half time
That’s gonna be an awkward second half.
With lemon pepper wings and hoodies.
The kitchen is taking over. They are SELLING MAGIC CITY WING. No dancers just hoodies. It’s real trafficking victims you can be speaking up for not a grown women with 27 Benz
Yea that does seem like an odd choice for a theme night
No more odd than our continual celebration of the military as we actively bomb the fuck out of the middle east. Think of the kids!
https://www.magiccity.com/pictures/
Single moms gotta eat too
Harden has given out a bunch of scholarships to women who were paying their way through college.
A true feminist hiding in plain sight
You know we joke about Harden but just think about him for a second. Every year some league dumbass gets caught up in domestic situations with women, getting baby trapped or accused of abuse. Meanwhile Harden has openly been a fan of strip clubs for a decade and a half, and we’ve NEVER heard anything bad or creepy about him. It really bugs me when people say these women are just out to take advantage of NBA players, don’t you think if that was true he would have had a single scandal by now?
His jersey is hung in the clubs for a reason
Hey those pre-med and lawyers textbooks are expensive and don’t pay for themselves
A gentleman and a scholar
I heard Epstein did that too
He didn’t do that for grown women.
I mean the NBA should support single moms since they create so many of them.
I think it’s weird to have an event for a strip club at an NBA game for sure but I’d say more because of children being there and it not being family friendly, like you then have to explain what magic city is to some kid if you take your kid there or watching at home which I’m sure some don’t want.
I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s disrespectful to women I mean it’s a real job that women do some of them probably want the promo.
I think it’s important to read Kornet’s message. It was well thought out and nuanced. He has nothing against the workers. He thinks the industry is full of people abusing women and that many of the people in the industry are there through some type of abuse. He doesn’t want the promotion of that industry
Yeah, people generally don’t use critical thinking on such things they just wait for the news to tell them to be outraged. The moment a strip club was put in the spotlight for having 18 year olds and labeled with words “trafficking” or “grooming” suddenly people would press their outrage button. Context matters.
Magic City should jump on this and use it as advertising. Claim the worker angle, no shady stuff, etc. Then denounce smaller clubs that treat women poorly, promote shady actions, grooming, etc. Try to spin it so they want to clean up the image of the industry. Why don’t I work in PR?
I doubt Magic City is trying to be known for its progressive work culture. They’ve been sued by workers as recently as last year. Smaller clubs aren’t inherently worse to their workers, there are even some worker owned strip clubs.
I had a sociology class in college where we talked about strip clubs. The women literally get PTSD from the job.
For every “respectful” guy that just goes to the club to have fun, there are a dozen who touch them, stalk them, harass them.
And almost every single dancer is pushed into it by being poor. And many are literally sex trafficking victims. Eesh. It’s a horrifying industry to learn about.
Are you explaining to your kid why we’re bombing Iran as we celebrate the military too?
I also think it’s bad to bomb Iran
I don’t celebrate the military
Kids would never accidentally watch real obscene shit on the internet….
100%. But let’s be real this isn’t just about personal morals. It’s a straight up bad look for the NBA as a whole, especially when the league already has a dumpster fire of issues with domestic violence. The NBA positions itself as progressive and socially conscious(promotes the WNBA as an example). So when a franchise promotes a strip club on game day it creates contradiction in the messaging.
NBA games are marketed as family friendly events. Kids are in the arena and youth teams are on the court at halftime. When you attach a strip club promotion to that environment, you’re going to divide people. That’s not pearl clutching it’s basic brand awareness.
You struggle to see how sexualizing and objectifying women is disrespectful? Do you think guys go there because of the women’s personality?
Pretty clear half this comments section hasn’t graduated high school yet.
It’s definitely not bringing out the best this sub has to offer.
I don’t get the big deal. Unless they’re stripping at the game, I don’t see a problem.
Most people are fine with, or don’t bat an eye at, alcohol and gambling ads; and those are more dangerous and problematic imo.
And it’s not like a lot (not all) of sports cheerleaders or ring girls aren’t objectified at the games either. Other than Khabib I’ve never heard a HUGE pushback from men regarding ring girls in pro combat sports. And this isn’t like Lizzo twerking bare assed at the Lakers game how many years back
Of course, nothing wrong with his opinion. I just disagree with him and don’t need to insult him to disagree with him
EDIT: Some people are being weird acting like as soon as girls/women see this promotion that theyre gonna be like “That’s it I’m becoming a stripper”
We all hate gambling ads. Gambling sponsorships. And Kevin hart
We riot when the Clippers have Kevin Hart night
It’s definitely a sign of how jaded at society we have become that “team that is letting a strip club sponsor a game” is getting a “meh” reaction, and “guy who doesn’t think the strip club should sponsor games” is getting a “Who is this radical extremist!?” reaction.
Can we not just all acknowledge that having a local strip club sponsor a game is fucking weird? And no, it is not remotely in the same category as alcohol or gambling. WTF are you all smoking?
“Honey, I grabbed some beers and bet on the game with my buddy” -> “Ok, darling”
“Honey, me and the guys went to the strip club” -> “You did what, now!?”
You can literally bet on people getting bombed so I think a strip club is pretty quaint in comparison.
Which says more about our society than it does about the virtue of strip clubs.
It’s definitely a sign of how jaded at society we have become that “team that is letting a strip club sponsor a game” is getting a “meh” reaction, and “guy who doesn’t think the strip club should sponsor games” is getting a “Who is this radical extremist!?” reaction
Okay but that’s not what’s happening, at most you’re seeing people ask why a random backup from the spurs is trying to influence what the Atlanta Hawks front office is allowed to do
“Honey, I grabbed some beers and bet on the game with my buddy” - “Ok, darling” “Honey, me and the guys went to the strip club” - “You did what, now!?”
“Honey, I grabbed some beers and bet on the game with my buddy” - “Ok, darling”
“Honey, me and the guys went to the strip club” - “You did what, now!?”
This is so disingenuous. This same convo between two single men or women would be completely tame because strip clubs by themselves are not some egregious institution to patronize; you had to put it in the context of a committed relationship to make it violate any norms
I mean if you know what Magic City is and its place in Atlanta the conversation usually goes “Honey, I’m stopping at Magic City to pick up wings” -> “Ok, babe”
Magic city seems to be a pretty big part of Atlanta culture. Unless youre from there you might be talking out your ass
That’s not a new thing in this sub unfortunately
Yea I’m just about as pro sex work and pro strip club as it comes and I definitely think it’s weird to do this.
Alcohol and Gambling are much worse for society.
As a father of two little girls, I find it less than ideal to have a strip club sponsor games. I want my girls to aspire to be more than sex workers and I have no qualms about saying it.
Side note: I have known some strippers and they have all had substance abuse problems. I know that’s not all of them, but I can’t help but notice the trend.
Raise them that way then? If your daughters become strippers it wasn’t because they went to an Atlanta hawks game when they were kids.
I think you’re missing the point. Children are influenced by culture and a culture that normalizes sex work will produce more sex workers and it is a less than ideal line of work.
No one sees a problem with it. Also no one is rushing out to sign their mom, wife or daughters up to be strippers.
So it’s not that people don’t see a problem with it. They just see it as someone else’s problem.
iirc they’re just having their wings available at the game and are selling a Magic City/Hawks hoodie
I don’t think that a majority of people understand that magic city has cultural relevance to Atlanta. It’s not like the Pelican’s are having a Rick’s Cabaret night.
Is it a little weird? For sure. But selective moral outrage when you can use your platform for so much more is lame
I haven’t heard a single defense of the Magic City night that didnt include a Whatboutism
how about people enjoy life in a different way than others that you might not support
It’s about wings. There won’t be strippers at halftime or whatever the fuck dumb shit people are spewing. If your kid asks you, tell them it’s a wing spot, because honestly it’s viewed just as much so as a strip club.
Dad why won’t mom let us go to the wing spot
Don’t worry son we can get them on door dash, unless that’s for the strippers too
Devin Booker explaining why the Suns need to host Hooters Night
I have not heard a single point against Magic City night that was about the actual establishment and not the industry.
The strip club is part of the strip club industry 👍
Luke is def not invited out with the guys anymore
Luke and Wemby enjoy a night in with a good book and glass of Pinot while the rest of the team go out to the clubs. Is this kind of team culture sustainable?
I can’t believe I’m siding with a former Celtic/current spurs but where do I sign
Hey now, Kornet was a Buck first!
Kornet was undrafted out of college and signed a two way contract with the Knicks. He was a rookie with Porzingis.
I dub thee Sir Luke, White Knight of the Westeros Conference
The women working at the club would probably not feel disrespected and would probably be happy because of more buisness id imagine lol
Disrespecting women is an all too familiar pastime in sports. This tracks for the league.
How is this disrespectful to women?
Yes this just comes off as misogynistic. Why are people speaking on women’s behalf’s saying it’s disrespectful to them?? Wth, I haven’t seen a single woman say that
You struggle to imagine why stripping and objectifying a human being is disrespectful?
The “family friendly” league that shoves ads for alcohol and gambling down the throats of consumers both at the arena and on TV.
The thing about Magic City is what most people don’t understand is that it’s not only a strip club. Magic City is a huge cultural part of Atlanta. A lot of ATL rappers started or perform there. It’s not just a strip club but a place where people around the city hang out.
To say it’s not suitable for children but we have gambling ads all over the broadcast, alcohol ads and even athletes posing in Skims, this shouldn’t be looked at differently.
A great false dichotomy. Gambling, alcohol and tobacco should not be advertised, in fact throw in fast food and junk food while you’re at it. And yes, strip clubs, escort services and only fans. Who cares who performs there, do you think the Ajax Amsterdam soccer club has a Red Light District Night to honor prostitutes, because it is a big part of their city?
It isn’t looked differently, most people don’t even want the gambling sponsorships.
This is the take I’ve been waiting to hear. If you’re not from ATL you really don’t understand the cultural aspect at play. Started out the career of a lot of rappers who represent the city. I can understand Kornet calling it out but keep that same energy with the gambling ads
Cant believe how controversial this statement seems to be here. Kornet is 100 percent correct. Didnt know he was based like this.
This is not based, lmao.
For real. When did nba fans get so goofy? I’m more shocked they haven’t done a magic city night before. Would people care if Vegas did a show girls night? NBA halftime shows are often just women twerking for 6 minutes
A lot of people need something to complain about.
I’m probably not woke enough but unless there’s actually strippers performing at the game, I don’t get the issue.
Is it kinda odd? Yeah. But culturally speaking, it fits the city and the largely the fan base. I’m more on the camp off just waiting to see how they execute it before I say anything
I’m plenty woke, but someone coming out and being like “guys these are women we gotta be respectful” when he’s not said fuckall about all the spouse beaters openly in his league says enough. This is christian conservative bullshit being touted as ‘protect the women’
They always hide behind some bullshit of protecting x group while doing nothing to stop the actual abusers amongst them. Its all about protecting the children until they find out their buddies have a thing for the underaged.
At the end of the day, aint shit wrong with this. Bring your kids to one of the other 81 games that dont have this promotion. I promise you the women that work there arent being exploited the way hes painting it
NBA supporting strip clubs and gambling. Who knew.
“First of all happy international women’s day”
Sex work is not inherently disrespectful to women. Treating sex workers as unclean while also objectifying them as sex objects is disrespectful to women. Stripping isn’t the problem. It’s the reaction many people have to strippers that is the problem.
Can this league act normal? A strip club night? wtf? Why lean into something not for family’s but I guess gambling and strippers is the business the NBA wants
He’s right
Why is that even controversial? How does a strip club contributing to hip hop make it any better?
Was this promo Lemon Pepper Lou’s idea?
Lmfaooo
It’s no worse then gambling or booze
Betting and drinking beers are things that are regularly done in front of kids (for better or worse), not strippers. I’m not saying it’s innately worse, just much less acceptable.
Or the military, as we actively bomb the fuck out of the middle east
I don’t agree with him, but it is a perfectly reasonable take.
It’s fine. Magic city night is fine. Luke writing that and speaking his mind about it is fine. Everyone’s intention is in the right place.
If he hadn’t included a call to cancel, and rather just wrote about the talking points and realities he addressed in his blog post as consideration for an ongoing discussion and effort towards making sure the league is respecting and championing women the right ways, I think would’ve been more constructive and been more of a nothing-burger. Which this essentially is anyway.
He’s correct. This is so degenerate as it comes.
He’s right. Shout out to him for speaking out. Just let one girl twerk at the game, pretending to be on the pole and most of the jokes will stop.
It’s about their locally famous lemon pepper chicken wings not the strippers
Kornet should talk his team into tanking this game. That would get the NBA’s attention lol
Ah yes nothing more disrespectful to women than paying them for their work
I don’t see an issue with either perspective (personally I don’t have a problem with it). It’s not like his position is unique. I don’t know what percentage of people would agree with him but it’s not small.
What Would David Stearn do
He’s got a point
This guys getting more flack than players in the league with domestic violence history, crazy.
That’s the culture, they are queens!!
I’m just upset Portland didn’t have a strip club night first tbh
I mean fuck it why not, we already let the gamblers run the league. Obviously this is counter to league values but League Values translates to however much money this can bring Silver anymore.
Nerd hahahahahaha