Credit: Mark Bradley
Credit: Mark Bradley
Maybe you believe that Michael Gearon Jr., one of the Atlanta Hawks' many owners, is waging a campaign to oust Danny Ferry as general manager. Even if we concede that point, we're left with this:
Ferry spoke insensitive words in a business setting about Luol Deng, whom the Hawks were considering for employment. The audio tape obtained by esteemed colleague Chris Vivlamore underscores what Adrian Wojnarowski's review for Yahoo! Sports of a written transcript of the June conference call suggested: It doesn't sound as if Ferry was, as the Hawks have maintained, reading from a background report.
If that was the entirety of the Hawks' defense -- and by "the Hawks," we mean in this case CEO Steve Koonin and Ferry, as opposed to the splinter group of Gearon and the team's other Atlanta-based owners -- the audio tape renders it inoperative. Hearing the tape, it's hard to believe Ferry was speaking words someone else had written. Ergo, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which he remains general manager.
In today's AJC, I wrote a little something essentially wishing the squabbling Hawks would go away and leave us in peace . I doubt that's going to happen anytime soon. (For our sins, we are doomed to these Hawks.) But I do think Ferry, who a week ago I considered the best GM this franchise has had over the 30 years I've worked here, will be leaving soon. I see no way back from this.
Just FYI: On the tape, after Ferry utters the infamous words, "He's got some African in him," you can hear a background voice reacting in apparent incredulity, invoking Donald Sterling's name and saying, "This is going to be on TMZ tonight." That voice is Gearon's.
Commenting is closed on this post.
About the Author
