The magic is gone for fans of the Atlanta Hawks and an iconic adult entertainment hot spot in the city.<\/p>\n
The NBA announced Monday evening that it had cancelled the Hawks\u2019 planned March 16 theme night<\/a> celebrating the Magic City adult entertainment club with offerings that included special food, a halftime show featuring Grammy Award-winning rapper T.I. and exclusive merchandise.<\/p>\n Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement that it was the \u201cright decision for the broader NBA community\u201d to make the event disappear.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we became aware of the Atlanta Hawks\u2019 scheduled promotion, we reached out to Hawks leadership to better understand their plans and rationale,\u201d Silver said. \u201cWhile we appreciate the team\u2019s perspective and their desire to move forward, we have heard significant concerns from a broad array of league stakeholders, including fans, partners and employees.\u201d<\/p>\n The Hawks said that while they were \u201cvery disappointed\u201d by the cancellation, they \u201cfully respect\u201d the league\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a franchise, we remain committed to celebrating the best of Atlanta \u2013 with authenticity \u2013 in ways that continue to unite and bring us all together,\u201d a statement on social media said.<\/p>\n Halftime show will go on, famed wings still on menu<\/p>\n The Hawks also said the game against the Orlando Magic will still include T.I.\u2019s halftime performance and the \u201cfull array of award-winning culinary options,\u201d including Magic City\u2019s famed wings.<\/p>\n Despite praise in some corners, the \u201cMagic City Monday\u201d event had drawn criticism from NBA players including San Antonio Spurs centre Luke Kornet<\/a>, who expressed his discomfort with the league being associated with such an event.<\/p>\n In a blog post on Medium, the nine-year NBA veteran asked the Hawks to abandon their plans for the theme night, saying it reflected poorly on the league and its players.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d Kornet wrote. \u201cWe should promote an atmosphere that is protective and respectful of the daughters, wives, sisters, mothers and partners that we know and love.\u201d<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED VIDEOEx-Raptor went viral at club<\/p>\n