This is what sports should be about, folks. Not just the highlights and the dunks, but athletes using their platform to stand up for what's right.
Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet didn't hold back this week, publishing an open letter calling on the Atlanta Hawks to cancel their promotional night with Magic City, Atlanta's premier strip club. And let me tell you, this is the kind of moral courage we need more of in professional sports.
In his blog post, Kornet wrote: "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."
Now, the Hawks announced this as a "special one-night collaboration to celebrate the city's iconic cultural institution" during their March 16 game against Orlando. But here's the thing - they conveniently left out that this "cultural institution" is a strip club. Kornet saw right through it.
"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," Kornet continued.
The 7-footer isn't some headline-grabbing star - he's a role player who averages single digits. But that makes this even more powerful. He's not doing this for clicks or endorsements. He's doing it because it's the right thing to do.
Kornet pointed out the harsh realities many women face in the adult entertainment industry:
