The Atlanta Hawks and the investigation regarding an email sent by owner Bruce Levenson was sparked by a comment made by general manager Danny Ferry during a call with shareholder owners of the team referring to a scouting report on Luol Deng that included a remark on his African heritage and now Levenson is heading towards a sale of the team.
According to ESPN.com and Yahoo Sports, the comment listed below was said by Ferry during the call and referred to Deng and his heritage in Africa, as he was born in South Sudan. Deng attended Duke and was one of the best free agent players on the market this past season and he was getting targeted by a number of teams, including the Hawks, Bulls, Lakers and the Miami Heat, who eventually signed him to a two year deal. While it's unclear if Ferry wrote the words that were said, it is not in dispute that he said them and he will be fined for those comments.
That comment was what sparked the investigation initially and now the team is likely to be solid after the 2012 racist email from Levenson was found. The email included racist remarks about the fan base and how the team could get a white clientele of season ticket holders and now Levenson may be selling the team. After the way the Clippers and Bucks went for a ton of money, some have suggested that the Hawks owner is trying to cash out, as he previously tried to sell the team and failed a few years ago.
"He's still a young guy overall," Ferry said, league sources with direct knowledge of the probe told Yahoo. "He's a good guy overall. But he's not perfect. He's got some African in him. And I don't say that in a bad way."
Update: the quote is allegedly worse than first reported, as Pro Basketball Talk writes that a letter obtained by a local news station from a co-owner of the team to Levenson detailed what Ferry said and the full quote was more descriptive. An excerpt from the letter: "During the call, which we recorded so that notes could be made for our partners unable to participate live, our GM Danny Ferry discussed player personnel issues at some length. With respect to one potential free agent, a highly-regarded African-American player and humanitarian, Ferry talked about the player's good points, and then on to describe his negatives, stating that "he has a little African in him. Not in a bad way, but he's like a guy who would have a nice store out front but sell you counterfeit stuff out the back." Ferry completed the racial slur by describing the player (and impliedly, all persons of African descent) as a two-faced liar and cheat.
We were appalled that anyone would make such a racist slur under any circumstance, much less the GM of an NBA franchise on a major conference cal. One of us can be heard on the tape reacting with astonishment."
