NBA Cancels Hawks' Magic City Night After Backlash
NBA No Magic City Night On Our Watch!!! ... Promo Scrapped
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"Magic City Night" at the Atlanta Hawks game is no more -- the NBA just swooped in and canceled the highly anticipated March 16 promotion due to concerns raised throughout the league about giving a strip club the spotlight.
Commish Adam Silver made the announcement minutes ago ... saying, "When we became aware of the Atlanta Hawks' scheduled promotion, we reached out to Hawks leadership to better understand their plans and rationale."
"While we appreciate the team's perspective and their desire to move forward, we have heard significant concerns from a broad array of league stakeholders, including fans, partners, and employees."
"I believe canceling this promotion is the right decision for the broader NBA community," he added.
San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet was the first key critic ... saying the night sent a bad message to the women of the NBA community, and calling on the Hawks to scrap the event.
The Hawks announced the plans last month ... saying it would be a night filled with music, food, merch and culture for the fans in attendance for the matchup against the Orlando Magic ... stating NO dancers would be involved.
We spoke with Magic City -- as well as some legendary dancers who got their start at the establishment -- during all the chatter ... and they explained how the joint is so much more than naked ladies.
Magic City manager Juju Barney tells TMZ Sports ... while the plans are scrapped ... it's all love.
"Magic City & Magic City Kitchen were genuinely hyped to team up with the Hawks," Juju said. "Even if it didn’t happen, it was an honor just getting picked. Respect to the league, the players, everybody involved. Atlanta Forever."
As for the Hawks, they just said T.I. will still perform at halftime like originally planned ... but they're bummed.
"While we are very disappointed in the NBA's decision to cancel our Magic City Night promotion, we fully respect its decision," the team said. "As a franchise, we remain committed to celebrating the best of Atlanta -- with authenticity -- in ways that continue to unite and bring us all together."
