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Hawks announce celebration of Magic City, the strip club where Lou Williams violated the NBA's COVID-19 protocol in 2020
With the entire 2020 NBA season in the balance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams decided to risk it all for some lemon pepper wings from a strip club. That's how Magic City broke containment and went from Atlanta institution to nationally-recognized establishment.
Six years later, and Williams' iconic(?) moment will be immortalized by the Atlanta Hawks, who announced Thursday a one-game celebration of the strip club. On March 16, the Hawks will host "Magic City Monday," a celebration of the Atlanta institution. No, really. That's happening.
In a nod to Williams, the Hawks will serve two versions of the now-infamous wings that Williams picked up during the COVID-19 pandemic, per the team's release.
Magic City Kitchen will serve two versions of their ‘world famous’ lemon pepper wings, Louwill Lemon Pepper BBQ and traditional Lemon Pepper. Fans interested in purchasing wings can visit Sections 114, 120 and 211. Two of State Farm Arena’s all-inclusive premium experiences, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino’s Club and the Players Club, will have both sets of wings available as an option, while supplies last.
The team will also release a limited-edition "Magic City" hoodie that features the Hawks' logo.
Hawks' principal owner Jami Gertz said the celebration was scheduled to acknowledge Magic City's "incredible impact on our city and its unique culture."
While Magic City was well known in the city of Atlanta, the establishment entered the national spotlight in 2020 thanks to Williams. With the COVID-19 pandemic starting to take shape, the NBA halted the 2019-20 season in March.
The league eventually agreed to continue to season in July, but — in order to make things safer during the pandemic — agreed to hold games in a bubble in Florida. Everyone associated with the NBA had to remain in that bubble and follow COVID-19 guidelines. Violations of those rules would result in quarantine periods.
Williams — a member of the Clippers at the time — was given permission to leave the bubble in order to attend his grandfather's funeral. During the absence, however, Williams was spotted at Magic City. While the guard initially denied being at the establishment, he later claimed he was only there to pick up some lemon pepper wings. The NBA ultimately decided to make Williams serve a 10-day quarantine after he returned to the bubble. He missed two games over that period.
Williams, who previously played for the Hawks, made it no secret how much he loved Magic City, once calling it his "favorite restaurant in the world." He went to bat for the Magic City wings multiple times on X prior to the incident.
Ultimately, Williams' love of those wings resulted in one of the bigger stories to come out of the NBA bubble. Williams took criticism for his actions, though mostly received coverage for the bizarre nature of the incident. He decided to — at the very least — put the rest of the Clippers' season in jeopardy due to his desire to pick up some strip-club wings.
Now, the Hawks will make sure that moment lives on forever. While the team's release does not mention whether Williams will be at "Magic City Monday," the Hawks need to make an effort to ensure he's there, right? A celebration of Magic City wouldn't be complete without the man who introduced it to a national audience.
