Hawks GM Ferry takes indefinite leave of absence

ATLANTA - Under fire for making racially charged comments about a player, Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry took an indefinite leave of absence Friday.

Hawks CEO Steve Koonin has resisted calls for Ferry to be dismissed, but said the GM asked for the leave.

"This has been an incredibly difficult time for him and his family and it is my hope that this time away from the Hawks organization allows him the privacy he needs to listen to the community, to learn about his mistakes, and to begin the long process of personal healing," Koonin said. "As a human being, manager and friend, I wish him well as he undergoes this process."

Ferry made inflammatory comments about former Bull Luol Deng during a conference call with the Hawks' ownership group in June as he team was pursuing the free agent. The GM described Deng as someone who "has a little African in him."

"He's like a guy who would have a nice store out front and sell you counterfeit stuff out of the back," Ferry said on the call, which was recorded.

Deng, who was born in what is now South Sudan, now plays for the Miami Heat. He responded to Ferry's comment by saying, "I'm proud to say I actually have a lot of African in me, not just 'a little."'

Former NBA great Magic Johnson is among those who have called on Ferry to step down.

An internal investigation into Ferry's comments uncovered an unrelated email sent two years ago by the team's controlling owner, Bruce Levenson, who theorized that black fans were keeping suburban white fans from attending games.

Levenson said he was embarrassed by what he called an ill-advised attempt to improve the team's attendance and that he intends to sale his share of the team.

The whole affair has been another embarrassment to the NBA, which only last month forced Donald Sterling into selling the Los Angeles Clippers after he was heard on secretly recorded conversations with his girlfriend asking that she not to bring African-Americans to his games. Steve Ballmer bought the Clippers for a record $2 billion.

Koonin said Ferry was disciplined for his comments, but refused to disclose the punishment. Both Ferry and Koonin have said the GM was merely repeating statements made by others in scouting reports on Deng.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who quickly issued a lifetime ban against Sterling, said he supported Levenson's decision to sell the Hawks but he didn't think Ferry should lose his job.

Ferry released a statement Friday saying "no words can adequately describe my remorse for the hurt that I have caused many people through the statements I repeated, most importantly Luol Deng."

"Luol is a good man who I have known for many years and he has done a tremendous amount of good for his country and around the world," Ferry said. "I apologize to Luol and I apologize to all that I have offended. As I have said, while these were not my words, I deeply regret repeating them. Almost all the background information I provided during the lengthy presentation regarding Luol was positive and my personal and professional recommendation during the call was very much in favor of adding Luol to our team, but I never should have uttered those offensive remarks and for that I apologize.

A letter from co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. to Levenson recommended that Ferry resign or be fired.

Koonin said the comments were "deeply troubling" but added that the matter was exasperated by discord among the ownership group, presumably referring to Levenson and Gearon. Coach Mike Budenholzer will take over as the head of basketball operations during Ferry's absence.

"At the heart of this dispute is an unfortunate disagreement amongst owners," Koonin said. "That said, we have taken several steps to address what we can do as an organization to be better and stronger, including working with a diversity consultant to examine us and to train us to ensure something like this never happens again."

Koonin said the team plans to hire a "chief diversity officer" and will consult with community leaders, though a scheduled meeting this week with civil right activists was canceled by the Hawks.

"The process of selling the team, which is to remain in Atlanta, is already underway," Koonin added.

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