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There are Wing Bowl Vibes with this Atlanta Hawks and Magic City Controversy
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The Sixers aren’t worth talking about right now, so we’ll go to a different NBA story. The Atlanta Hawks have a theme night coming up that’s centered on a famous strip club down there:
What put this story into “everybody now has an opinion” territory was San Antonio’s Luke Kornet coming out in condemnation, writing, in part:
This week the Atlanta Hawks “announced a special one-night collaboration to celebrate the city’s iconic cultural institution Magic City” during the team’s home game against Orlando on Monday, March 16. In its press release the Hawks failed to acknowledge that this place is, as the business itself boasts, “Atlanta’s premier strip club.” Given this fact, I would like to respectfully ask that the Atlanta Hawks cancel this promotional night with Magic City.
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.
One of the points people raised is that the NBA is partnered with gambling companies and fans go to these games and drink alcohol and yell at the players and do other typical sports fan things. So if there are some morally-ambiguous activities already taking place in these arenas, and associated with the league, then what’s so bad about doing a night to promote a famous strip club? They aren’t actually bringing strippers to the game. It’s not like Red Panda has been replaced as the halftime entertainment for topless women taking half-court shots. The press release says that:
“Magic City Kitchen will serve two versions of their ‘world famous’ lemon pepper wings: Louwill Lemon Pepper BBQ and traditional Lemon Pepper. Fans interested in purchasing wings can visit Sections 114, 120, and 211. Two of State Farm Arena’s all-inclusive premium experiences, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino’s Club and the Players Club, will have both sets of wings available as an option, while supplies last.”
…
“As part of this collaboration, the Hawks Shop has teamed up with Magic City to release a limited-edition Peachtree-themed hoodie. Across the front in bold text are the words ‘MAGIC CITY’ in peach and on the sleeves are the Hawks official logo and the Peach logo. This new retail item will be available only at the Hawks Shop in State Farm Arena and online at HawksShop.com starting on Monday, March 16.”
That’s one part of the discussion, the promotion of a strip club and the whether or not it results in a lack of consistency with stated NBA values.
The other part reminds me a bit of the arguments we had in Philadelphia about the Wing Bowl. Much like this situation, the two components are chicken and scantily-clad women.
Kornet writes that “allowing this night to go forward without protest would reflect poorly as an NBA community, specifically in being complicit in the potential objectification ad mistreatment of women in our society.” The word “potential” is important there because he’s clear in his understanding that being a stripper is a personal choice. No one makes you become a stripper. Every woman who performs at Magic City does so of their own volition, and therefore men deciding what’s appropriate and what isn’t could be construed as telling women their business, which goes against the larger tenets of empowering women to, well, make their own choices.
Kornet touches on that when he writes:
“Regardless of how a woman finds her way into the adult entertainment industry, many in this space experience abuse, harassment, and violence to which they should never be subjected.”
I’d like to encourage the league, its owners, employees and fans to hold the Atlanta Hawks to a higher standard of what they find worthy of promoting.
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.
This stance became increasingly common over the years of half-naked women walking around the South Philly basketball and hockey arena. There were protesters standing outside, holding signs that said “Wing Bowl objectifies women,” which may or may not be true, but those women were there because they wanted to be there. Look no further than former Wingette Ava Graham, who said:
But even though they participated voluntarily, it didn’t stop some of the men in attendance from being douchers, playing grab-ass and saying inappropriate things, and that’s what Kornet is alluding to when he talks about the things that “many in this space experience.” And while WIP is a sports talk radio station and not a professional basketball team, similar questions were being asked, i.e. “is this something that reflects positively or negatively on Philadelphia and its sports fans?“
WIP ended Wing Bowl in 2018, in part because the collision course with the #MeToo movement made the annual event unnecessarily risky. The juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. And the original reason for doing Wing Bowl was rendered null and void anyway. It was initially created because the Eagles never won a Super Bowl, so Wing Bowl was a two-part placebo and running bit that lasted 26 years. Then the Eagles finally got over the hump in February of 2018 and won it all, so that was a good jump-off point to retire the promotion and move on.
Regardless, Kornet makes some good points. He’s a solid writer and lays out his argument clearly. He’s looking for consistency from the NBA and asking if this promotion is in the league’s best interest. He doesn’t come off sounding like a crybaby or a prude or anything like that.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com