'A form of art': NBA star Draymond Green defends strip-club night at Hawks game as 'inclusive' promotion

NBA player Draymond Green has come out in defense of stripping as “art” and says a strip club is part of Atlanta’s culture.

The statements stem from controversy over the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks hosting a “Magic City Monday” game on March 16 against the Orlando Magic. Magic City is a famous strip club in Atlanta.

‘It’s actually a form of art that some choose to indulge in and some choose not to indulge in.’

Following the team’s announcement of the celebration — which includes music, wings, and podcasts — San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet condemned the promotion and said it denigrates women.

“The NBA should desire to protect and esteem women. … We should promote an atmosphere that is protective and respectful of the daughters, wives, sisters, mothers, and partners that we know and love,” Kornet wrote. His sentiment was shared by Golden State Warriors veteran Al Horford.

However, Horford’s teammate Green had a much different view, stating on his podcast that he objects to Kornet’s remarks, despite having daughters.

“I object to what Luke Kornet is saying. … As a man with a wife, as a man with daughters, as a man with sisters, and as a man with an amazing mother and an amazing grandmother and incredible aunts and nieces,” Green began.

The 36-year-old then described Magic City as an extremely successful business that simply has “an option for females to work there.”

When it came to directly addressing Kornet’s remarks, Green first mentioned that it is entirely optional for anyone to visit the strip club. He then took issue with Kornet condemning stripping as a job, describing it as one would a regular profession.

“I think to point out that they have esteem issues because that’s the line of work they chose, I actually think is less protective of women because you’re condemning something as if — it’s actually an art,” Green claimed. “I don’t know if you’ve ever been, but like, if you see it in action, it’s actually a form of art that some choose to indulge in and some choose not to indulge in.”

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Green went into a further defense of strippers and said that “because a woman decides that that’s the art that they want to partake in and that the customer wants to take in,” it is “reflective on society’s thoughts and how they once viewed things.”

“I don’t necessarily think it’s a hit on the esteem of women,” he added.

Green then cited rapper Cardi B as a former stripper who does not appear to have “esteem issues,” because she has a successful music career. He also claimed that the reason the NBA is allowing the event to happen is because “the NBA as a community is a very inclusive community.”

Echoing Hawks ownership and staff, Green then described Magic City as part of Atlanta’s culture.

For example, Jami Gertz, an owner of the Hawks, said last week, “The iconic Atlanta institution has made such an incredible impact on our city and its unique culture.”

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Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images

Former NBA player Lou Williams, who had a pair of two-year stints with the Hawks, was far more impartial on the matter than Green was.

“Everybody won’t be happy about everything,” he told TMZ. “I think it’s an opportunity for everybody to be educated on things that they agree with and things that they don’t agree with.”

The Hawks have remained steadfast, though, telling the New York Post that the event will go on as planned.

In a separate statement to TMZ, Magic City manager JuJu Barney said, “There will be no nudity whatsoever, at all” at the event. He added, “There will be no signs of nudity. There will be no nudity at all. It’s strictly just wings and music and people having a good time.”

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