Atlanta Nightclubs Are Already Promoting NBA All-Star Weekend Parties Despite Comments From Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms And Adam Silver

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The NBA officially announced Thursday that it will be holding the All-Star Game on March 7 in Atlanta despite criticism from fans and players.

While speaking with Rachel Nichols on ESPN’s The Jump, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he thought going forward with the All-Star game was “the right thing to do” despite concerns of hosting the event in the middle of a pandemic.

“There were obviously those who thought we shouldn’t play without fans, thought we shouldn’t play in the bubble, thought we shouldn’t be playing in a very serious way because of the social justice issues roiling this country. So I certainly hear the other side of this issue here. And I’ll lastly say it seems like no decisions during this pandemic come without uncertainty and come without risk. This is yet another one of them, and yet it’s my job to balance all those interests and ultimately it feels like the right thing to do to go forward.”

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has already asked fans not to congregate for the All-Star Game and Silver agreed with her message.

“We don’t want people to gather for events around this All-Star. There will be absolutely no social functions in Atlanta. No ticketed events. No parties. It is a made-for television event at this point, and it’s largely in Atlanta because that’s where Turner Sports is located who will host this event … that’s why we are there, so we agree with the mayor.”

Despite the comments from Silver and Bottoms, Atlanta nightclubs are already promoting parties around All-Star weekend.