The Atlanta Hawks are celebrating Magic City, and Michelle Beadle doesn’t believe that means women need Luke Kornet to be their savior.
Monday night, March 16 is scheduled to be “Magic City Monday” for the Hawks, a celebration of Atlanta’s famous adult entertainment club, Magic City. In honor of the strip club, the Hawks will feature exclusive merchandise, Magic City’s famous lemon pepper wings, and a halftime performance by Atlanta native T.I.
The looming promotion has already garnered more attention for the Hawks than anything they’ve done on the court in recent years. But it also garnered backlash, with San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet authoring a blog post claiming the promotion is contributing to the “mistreatment of women.” Additionally, Kornet called for the Hawks and the NBA to cancel the celebration of a strip club, even one dubbed an “iconic cultural institution.”
And to Kornet’s bold attempt at saving women from this partnership between Magic City and the Hawks, Michelle Beadle said no thanks.
“As a woman, I am not offended by the idea of Magic Monday,” Beadle said on a recent episode of Beadle & Decker. “I cannot say this enough, Magic City, for anyone who’s been to Atlanta, it’s not just a titty bar. I feel like that’s sort of the vibes that maybe people are getting.
“Secondly, and more importantly is, thank you, White Knight. We don’t need this. I’ve had enough of men telling us what we can and shouldn’t and what we should want and what we should need and how we should act. No. No, no, these are not trafficked 12-year-olds, okay? We have that, and none of those people are being brought forward. This is not that. These are grown ass women who have a job. I don’t understand, are you shaming that industry as part of this blog? I can’t really understand the motivation. And most importantly, that’s not even a Spurs game, bruh. That’s Magic-Hawks. It has nothing to do with you, and he’s got like a petition. He actually wants people to sign on, and I’m just, I’m a little confused by it.”
Last summer, Hawks co-owner, actress, and film producer Jami Gertz produced a five-part docuseries celebrating 40 years of Magic City. Considering her association with the adult entertainment club, a blog post from an opposing player condemning the marketing ploy seems unlikely to spark any change.
Amid the discourse surrounding the Hawks and their upcoming Magic City Monday promotion, the NBA has remained silent, implying they have no issue with the promotion. But if they league does step in to stop Magic City Monday, Beadle doesn’t want to be in the name of women.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com