The NBA called off the Atlanta Hawks’ plans of promoting a renowned adult entertainment/strip club in Atlanta called Magic City, which is a well-known venue in the hip-hop culture and community. The Hawks were scheduled for Magic City night on March 16, playing the Orlando Magic, however NBA Commissioner David Silver believed that the decision to cancel was “the right decision for the broader NBA community,” in a statement announcing the decision.
There were mixed reactions regarding the news of the Hawks teaming up with the adult venue, including players on the Hawks team who were against the idea. In fact, San Antonio Spurs center Luke Cornet called for the league to intervene and cancel the event in his article on Medium, saying that the league would be participating in being complicity in objectifying and mistreating women in society as well as calling on the league to “promote an atmosphere that is protective and respectful of the daughters, wives, sisters, mothers, and partners that we know and love.”
While the NBA made the right choice in cancelling the event, the purpose of this article is to address and focus on the very intriguing responses and backlash from the NBA’s decision, specifically the people who are criticizing the decision, and are using interesting defenses in defending a strip club being seen on social media.
Let us start with this: we with common sense know what a strip club is and why people go. It isn’t for having happy hours or to enjoy food, regardless of how great the lemon pepper wings (which are an apparent staple of Magic City). People go to strip clubs to see entertainment from women, who use their bodies and get naked and do other debaucherous activities to earn money from those watching them.
In other words, you can consider this sexual exploitation and the objectification of women, disguised as entertainment. The NBA knows that its fans consist of men, women, and children, and has a responsibility to ensure that these games and what they promote are family-friendly. If they allowed this Magic City night to go ahead, that would, without question, send a very controversial message to its fans, the brand, and the game itself, if they promote debauchery as this to women and children, wrongly influencing them to think this is quite okay.
Now the NBA has dropped the ball in some cases, and they by no means have clean hands, however this would be something that they know they cannot defend, as there is no legitimate defense in promoting a strip club.
Another interesting phenomenon in the defense of Magic City is how this place is a “cultural icon.” The Atlanta Hawks issued a statement in response to the cancellation of Magic City night, expressing disappointment but respecting the decision, even saying that “we remain committed to celebrating the best of Atlanta. In ways that continue to unite and bring us all together.”
I found this intriguing for various reasons: first, Atlanta is one of the most iconic major cities in the US, coined the Black Mecca, considered the Capital of the Southeast US, with all the great milestones Atlanta is known for, yet they decided that a strip club is on par with this? Here is a small homework assignment: go to Magic City’s website, browse their photos, and evaluate if what they promote is worthy to be in the same category as what Atlanta is best known for.
If Magic City is considered the “best of Atlanta”, then clearly there is a huge problem. When I think of Atlanta, I do not think of strip clubs and the degeneracy behind it, I think of the epicenter of the civil rights movement, the home to arguably the greatest Civil Rights Leader in MLK Jr., the home of Coca-Cola, where the 1996 Summer Olympics took place, home of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum and Library, site of Civil War battles, top destination for music, film and pop culture, and so many more accomplishments of ATL.
A strip club should be nowhere close to these magnificent milestones that Atlanta has accomplished. The Hawks decided this was a great idea to celebrate over something such as an HBCU Night, Black Business Night, Education Night, Women’s History, etc., and it couldn’t be more backwards with their ideas of promoting what actual societal contributions are.
Even prominent figures have come out to defend Magic City. Killer Mike, one of Atlanta’s best-known rappers, claimed that Magic City has been a major part of Atlanta’s cultural landscape for decades. Going further as to say that it has helped individuals achieve success over the years, including women, and has been a staple of Black culture in Atlanta. Killer Mike has also stated that opinions from people who aren’t from Atlanta are not relevant.
Respectfully to Killer Mike, you do not need to be from Atlanta to understand that the simple concept that celebrating a strip club and saying it’s part of “the culture” is not only ignorant, but it’s also embracing degeneracy to the extreme. The question that people fail to articulate an answer to is how a strip club is significant and a beacon to a community and a staple of a city’s culture, particularly in a city with an abundance of black people. If this is celebrated as “culture” then something is clearly rotten with the culture.
As Hamlet said famously, “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”, I’ll take a step further, something is rotten with “Da Culture” that embraces degeneracy and other behaviors that has left us with a bad reputation in society. Regardless of the weak defenses of degeneracy from people all over, this just goes to show that bad is now good, and good is now bad, and morality is declining. Maybe just maybe, white supremacy and racism are not the problems in Black America; perhaps regaining our values and moral compass should be. Just food for thought.
Wrong Speak is a free-expression platform that allows varying viewpoints. All views expressed in this article are the author’s own.
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I hadn't heard of this because I pay only cursory attention to the NBA these days but...woofta. As if the on-court product wasn't bad enough on its own.
Adulting is okay but celebrating adult debauchery in public and on social media is another story. There is an aggressive push to be allowed to display freak in public. The Hawks took a wrong turn and it's good to see the NBA put the adulting back behind a door. We've been watching the worst debauchery, deviant (drag) shows, celebrated in public and sponsored in schools and libraries as grown men grind their crotches at children and then tell us this is "art." At least the strip clubs would throw out any adult who tries to bring a minor.