How Hawks are honoring historic ‘Magic City’ Atlanta nightclub with special promotion originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Atlanta Hawks have announced a special collaboration with the famous Magic City strip club during the March 16 game against the Orlando Magic.
The “city’s iconic cultural institution” has been a hotspot for notable guests attending the club.
As part of the collaboration, the Hawks Shop has teamed up with Magic City to release a limited-edition hoodie with a bolded, peach-colored ‘MAGIC CITY’ title on the front and Hawks and Peach logos on the sleeves.
The hoodie will be available only at the Hawks Shop in State Farm Arena and online at HawksShop.com starting on Monday, March 16.
To commemorate the iconic Magic City club, the team is releasing a custom Magic City x Atlanta Hawks hoodie that will be available on the day of their game against the Orlando Magic.
Along with the exclusive hoodie, the Hawks are tapping into their top-tier game entertainment with a halftime show featuring legendary Atlanta rapper T.I., who will perform some of his most popular tracks.
Magic City Kitchen will serve two versions of their ‘world famous’ lemon pepper wings in the arena, Louwill Lemon Pepper BBQ (named after former Atlanta Hawk and Magic City frequenter Lou Williams), and their traditional Lemon Pepper.
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The Hawks are paying homage to one of the city’s most well-known strip clubs.
The team is hoping to create a true Atlanta experience during the game for fans through food, music, and merchandise.
The Hawks are inviting fans to enter the arena early for a special live recording of the Hawks AF Podcast, which will feature a conversation about the Magic City documentary and the club’s impact on the city’s music, sports, and culture. Magic City founder Michael “Mr. Magic” Barney, three-time Grammy-winning rapper T.I., and Atlanta personality D.C. Young Fly will all be in attendance.
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Magic City is a notable strip club in Atlanta, founded in 1985 and currently owned by Michael “Magic” Barney. Barney came from Camden, N.J., and relocated to Atlanta to work in telecommunications. Barney was inspired to start his own club after attending one with friends.
Forty years later, Magic City is now heralded as the “Holy Grail of Atlanta strip clubs on Monday nights,” and the phrase Magic City Monday was created.
In 1995, Magic City caught fire under suspicious circumstances, although no one was ever charged. Magic Barney was incarcerated due to this event.
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The club was featured in a five-part STARZ docuseries, ‘Magic City: An American Fantasy,’ produced by Hawks’ Principal Owner, filmmaker and actor Jami Gertz.
Since opening in 1985, Magic City is often described as a place where music careers are made, especially through its influence on southern rap.
Throughout time, many notable names have attended the club, such as Tupac, Biggie Smalls, Michael Jordan, Drake, Future, and many more celebrities. Rap group the Migos and rapper Future are two notable names whose careers became popularized in the strip club.
Magic City is mentioned in multiple rap songs, such as “Magic City Monday” by Jeezy and “Magic” by Future.
During the pandemic, Lou Williams was photographed with rapper Jack Harlow at the club.
LA Clippers guard Lou Williams left the NBA bubble in Orlando for “personal reasons.” Then Jack Harlow posted a photo of himself with Williams at famed Atlanta strip club Magic City. https://t.co/AF5fCHoITepic.twitter.com/efhKCTmS2D
— Stereogum (@stereogum) July 27, 2020
This was met with backlash from former NBA player Kendrick Perkins, who cited his own attendance at Magic City in the past.
“I’ve been to Magic City, the wings are fire.”
In all seriousness, @KendrickPerkins is urging Lou Williams to “do better.” pic.twitter.com/0OdPwGcRy5
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 27, 2020
Rapper Future had his 35th birthday party at the Magic City club. Fellow rapper Drake delivered an armored truck with $100,000 in it to the club for Future’s birthday celebration.
Drake had an armored truck deliver $100,000 in cash to Magic City for Future’s 35th birthday party just to spend on strippers pic.twitter.com/Baah3BJ7FC
— DailyRapFacts (@DailyRapFacts) November 21, 2018
Although it was eventually deemed to be an altered photo, a picture of Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza eating Magic City wings went viral across social media.
While many are excited for the promo, the sentiment isn’t shared by everyone. San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet posted that the NBA should cancel the promo.
“The 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. We should promote an atmosphere that is protective and respectful of the daughters, wives, sisters, mothers, and partners that we know and love.
Allowing this night to go forward without protest would reflect poorly on us as an NBA community, specifically in being complicit in the potential objectification and mistreatment of women in our society.
Regardless of how a woman finds her way into the adult entertainment industry, many in this space experience abuse, harassment, and violence to which they should never be subjected.”
