Boston Celtics
“Well said Luke,” Horford posted on X.
Al Horford AP Photo/Kelley L Cox
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Former Celtics center Luke Kornet calls out Hawks over ‘Magic City’ promotion
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Luke Kornet wrote an open letter asking the Hawks to reconsider a promotion they are doing with Atlanta strip club Magic City, and Al Horford put out a brief message of support for his former teammates’ opinion.
“Well said Luke,” Horford wrote on X in a post that also had Kornet’s letter attached.
Kornet has never played for the Hawks. Horford spent the first nine years of his career with the franchise.
The promotion will include a performance from hip-hop artist T.I., along with two flavors of Magic City’s wings being sold at the game and other opportunities to buy limited edition merchandise.
It’s a special, one-night collaboration celebrating an “iconic cultural institution”, the Hawks said in a release.
“From the food to the music and the exclusive merchandise, we are excited to team up with Magic City to create an authentic, True to Atlanta-inspired game experience,” said Hawks Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Proctor.
Kornet said allowing the promotion to go on without protesting it would reflect poorly on the NBA community.
“I’d like to encourage the league, it’s owners, employees and fans to hold the Atlanta Hawks to a higher standard of what they find worthy of promoting,” Kornet wrote. “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.”
Kornet answered follow-up questions about his letter on Tuesday. He said he hasn’t heard from the Hawks or the league about it. He acknowledges that other people may not share his views.
“I know that there’s obviously criticism in the other way,” Kornet said. “I think that it’s good that we frankly are able to just open up the conversation to people to kind of be able to sort that out in the public forum and just make sure we’re capable of having discussion.”
Former Celtics and Hawks guard Jeff Teague had an enthusiastic response to the promotion during an episode of the Club 520 podcast.
“That’s fire,” Teague said. “I wish they did something like that when I played for the Hawks.”
The promotion is scheduled for Monday, March 16th when the Hawks host the Orlando Magic.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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