Mike Budenholzer is stepping into Danny Ferry's seat for now. (USATSI)
Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the organization, CEO Steve Koonin announced in a statement on Friday:
“This afternoon, Danny Ferry requested, and I have approved, taking an indefinite leave of absence, effective immediately. 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. As a human being, manager and friend, I wish him well as he undergoes this process.
While the issues related to race are deeply troubling, at the heart of this dispute is an unfortunate disagreement amongst owners. 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, we are committed to hiring a Chief Diversity Officer, and we have and will continue to meet with community leaders in an ongoing way to ensure our values reflect the community in which we play and work. The process of selling the team, which is to remain in Atlanta, is already underway.
Effective immediately, our Head Coach, Mike Budenholzer, will assume oversight of the basketball operations department. He will report directly to me.
I am deeply saddened and embarrassed that this has put a blemish on our team and our city, which has always been a diverse community with a history of coming together as one. We should build bridges through basketball, not divide our community or serve as a source of pain.”
Ferry also released apologetic statement, promising to earn back the trust of the city of Atlanta:
"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. 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.
My focus moving forward is to tirelessly work to rebuild trust with this community and with our fans. I realize that my words may ring hollow now and my future actions must speak for me. I will maximize my time during this leave to meet with community leaders and further educate myself and others on the extremely sensitive issues surrounding race, diversity, and inclusion. I will find a way to make a positive difference in this area, and further learn from the sensitivity training that I will go through.”
This comes on the heels of audio of Ferry's controversial conference call comments being released publicly, followed by text of the report he was reading from.
Ferry had reportedly already been privately disciplined, but the nature of the punishment had not been disclosed. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Ferry shouldn't be fired, but there was plenty of public pressure for it.
Budenholzer joined the Atlanta organization last year as a head coach after spending almost two decades with the San Antonio Spurs. Ferry became general manager of the Hawks in June of 2012. This obviously raises questions about his long-term future with the team, and you have to think that the whole front office could be reworked when the franchise is sold.
Basketball Hot News
Serbia’s Nenad Kristic on gold medal game vs. USA: ‘We’re not going to be scared, for sure’
Serbia took down France in the FIBA World Cup on Friday, in what was one of the tournament’s most entertaining and well-played contests.
Their reward for that accomplishment, of course, is a date with Team USA in the gold medal game on Sunday.
While the Americans are going to be heavily favored, Serbia has both veterans and NBA-level talent on its roster. And that combination means that the team will have a certain level of confidence, despite what appears to be a mismatch.
From Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops:
They are much older than the Americans. They have a player who once played for the Nets in East Rutherford, N.J. (Krstic). They have a point guard, Milos Teodosic, who is a lock for First Team All-Tournament (he scored 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting against France).
Most importantly, they have nothing to lose.
And when all the pressure is on the other team, as it will be for the United States on Sunday, it can be an enormous equalizer. Just ask Spain.
“We’re not going to be scared, for sure,” Krstic said. “Some players never get this chance — the chance to do something great in our lives.”
You would expect nothing less, and when teams play cohesively, we’ve seen them hold their own with Team USA for stretches.
The reality here, however, is that once single elimination play began, Team USA has won those three games by an average of more than 31 points.
We’ll see if Serbia can keep it close, and if so, for how long. But it’s clear that they won’t be intimidated ahead of time by the daunting task at hand.
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