Hawks discipline but don’t fire GM Danny Ferry over racial remarks

Atlanta Hawks General Manager Danny Ferry will apparently keep his job despite one of the team’s co-owners calling for his ouster shortly after Ferry made racially inflammatory remarks about free-agent prospect Luol Deng during a conference call with team executives in June.

In a letter written to controlling owner Bruce Levenson obtained by Atlanta’s WSB-TV, Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. wrote that Ferry should resign or be terminated for cause after Ferry said on the call one potential free agent “has a little African in him” and later described the player as “a two-faced liar and cheat.”

Deng was not named in the letter but was identified as the player Tuesday when Ferry issued an apology to his fellow Duke alumnus.

“We are appalled that anyone would make such a racist slur under any circumstance, much less the GM of an NBA franchise on a major conference call,” Gearon wrote in his letter. “One of us can be heard on the tape reacting with astonishment. Our franchise has had a long history of racial diversity and inclusion that reflect the makeup of our great city. Ferry’s comments were so far out of bounds that we are concerned that he has put the entire franchise in jeopardy.”

Hawks Chief Executive Steve Koonin, who assumed control of the team’s operations after Levenson pledged to sell the team over his inflammatory remarks about blacks, levied an undisclosed punishment against Ferry while allowing him to remain with the team.

“If we sentence people based on what everyone wants, we would have no justice system,” Koonin said Tuesday on Atlanta radio station 92.9 FM. “I have to be fair to the facts. As of today, based on the facts, this is what I’ve decided.”

An NBA spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on Ferry’s remarks.

Lakers legend Magic Johnson tweeted Ferry should step down. “The city of Atlanta and the Hawks fans deserve and should demand better from the Hawks leadership,” Johnson tweeted.

Ferry apologized for his remarks and said he was only repeating information culled from other sources around the league about Deng, a native of Sudan who eventually signed a two-year contract with the Miami Heat.

“In regards to the insensitive remarks that were used during our due diligence process, I was repeating comments that were gathered from numerous sources during background conversations and scouting about different players,” Ferry said in a statement.

“Those words do not reflect my views, or words that I would use to describe an individual and I certainly regret it. I apologize to those I offended and to Luol, who I reached out to Monday morning.”

Ferry’s comments sparked a probe by the Hawks that led to the discovery of Levenson’s August 2012 email to Ferry in which Levenson wrote that fans at the team’s home games were too black for his tastes.

According to Gearon’s letter, Ferry said on the conference call Deng “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 of the back.” Gearon also wrote Ferry concluded the call “by describing the player [and implied, all persons of African descent] as a two-faced liar and cheat.”

Deng released a statement Tuesday saying he was “proud to say I have a lot of African in me, not just ‘a little.’ For my entire life, my identity has been a source of pride and strength. ... Unfortunately, the comment about my heritage was not made with the same respect and appreciation.”

“Concerning my free agency,” Deng continued, “the focus should purely have been on my professionalism and my ability as an athlete. Every person should have the right to be treated with respect and evaluated as an individual, rather than be reduced to a stereotype. I am saddened and disappointed that this way of thinking still exists today. I am even more disturbed that it was shared so freely in a business setting.”

Gearon wrote that a group of minority owners had met with two attorneys, including a black former judge, who advised them Ferry’s remarks could be interpreted to mean that he believed “all blacks are two-faced liars and cheats.”

Gearon also cited the environment in the NBA following the scandal involving then-Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who received a lifetime ban and $2.5-million fine in April after making his own disparaging comments about blacks, and Levenson’s stance in “preaching zero tolerance of racial prejudice.”

“We believe these comments by Ferry were far worse than Sterling’s because they were not from a private personal conversation — they were in a business environment on a business matter in front of a dozen or more people,” Gearon wrote. “If Ferry would make such a slur in a semi-public forum, we can only imagine what he has said in smaller groups or to individuals.

“We also note that the racial diversity of our management team has changed for the worse since Ferry took over. The media [and any savvy lawyer] would have a field day with that fact. If Ferry’s comments are ever made public, and it’s a safe bet to say they will someday, it could be fatal to the franchise.”