Atlanta Hawks CEO Apologizes to Fans and City for Controversial Remarks
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Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images(ATLANTA) — Atlanta Hawks Chief Executive Officer Steve Koonin issued an apology Saturday to the NBA team’s fans and home city in light of the recent scandal surrounding a controversial email from co-owner Bruce Levenson.
Levenson announced he would be selling controlling interest of the basketball team last week after admitting to writing an “inappropriate and offensive” message with racial comments.
“We know enough today, based on investigations conducted by the league, by external legal counsel on behalf of the team, and information that has appeared in the media, that our shortcomings are beyond a single email, a single person, or a single event,” Koonin said in a statement.
“To the contrary, over a period of years, we have found that there have been inflammatory words, phrases, inferences, and innuendos about race,” he added. “We as an organization did not correct these failures. We did not do the right thing.”
On Friday, Hawks general manager Danny Ferry took an indefinite leave of absence, also coming under fire for racial comments about Miami Heat forward Luol Deng.
“To be clear, I am angry that this has happened,” Koonin said of the recent incidents. “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.”
The CEO also addressed steps being taken to facilitate change, including work with a diversity consultant, the hiring of a Chief Diversity Officer, and a new owner.
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