Commissioner Adam Silver said that pulling the plug was ‘the appropriate resolution for the broader NBA group’
The NBA has cancelled the Atlanta Hawks’ collaboration with Magic Metropolis, a neighborhood strip membership, ending what would have been a first-of-its-kind promotional night time in skilled basketball.
Final month, the Hawks introduced their highly-anticipated match towards the Orlando Magic on March 16, describing it as “a one-night collaboration to rejoice the town’s iconic cultural establishment”.
Commissioner Adam Silver mentioned that the league had scrapped the Hawks’ deliberate “Magic Metropolis Monday” promotion, calling it “the appropriate resolution for the broader NBA group.”
“After we turned conscious of the Atlanta Hawks’ scheduled promotion, we reached out to Hawks management to higher perceive their plans and rationale,” Silver mentioned in an announcement on Monday.
“Now we have heard vital considerations from a broad array of league stakeholders, together with followers, companions and workers. I consider canceling this promotion is the appropriate resolution for the broader NBA group,” he added.
The weird partnership raised eyebrows throughout the league earlier than Silver stepped in to halt the promotion.
The backlash started when San Antonio Spurs middle Luke Kornet revealed an open letter calling on the NBA to cancel the night time, noting the Hawks had quietly overlooked the truth that Magic Metropolis is, because it payments itself, “Atlanta’s premier strip membership.”
Kornet’s letter garnered assist from his former Celtics teammate Al Horford, who performs for the Golden State Warriors however started his profession on the Hawks, sharing the letter on X.
Nevertheless, not everybody was opposed.
Lou Williams, the previous Hawks guard who inadvertently made Magic Metropolis well-known nationwide after sneaking out of the NBA’s COVID bubble in 2020 on a wing run, incomes him the nickname “Lemon Pepper Lou”, mentioned he was in favour of the promotion, whereas acknowledging some folks “will not perceive it.”
The Hawks had even deliberate to honour the second with a “Lou Will Lemon Pepper BBQ” flavour on the menu at State Farm Enviornment.
