If Ferry stays on as GM...

[Guest]

 the problem with any "story" like this is the media loves to push the envelope . At some point the insanity has to stop , and to just say no to trumped up indignities takes away its power. 

 

  There are only so many pro basketball teams so theres is a finite numbers of jobs, and a finite  amount of cash available. If someone so offended by comments from Ferry that they dont want to come here  then its not really the mentality we want on the team anyway.  I promise you theres not going to be this rush to have contracts voided from members of the Hawks if Ferry remains.

 

 Its sad in this day and age that if your opinion differs from others its perfectly ok to try to paint them as racist - whatever - paint away  as I am at peace with myself and my god. 

 

Sigh.  No one called you a racist.  It was an attempt at levity.

 

Again, it's not about racist/not-racist.  It's about perceptions and impressions.

 

Even if you don't believe anything about Ferry's comments were racially insensitive, the bottom line is Deng is one of the most respected players in the entire league for what he does on/off the court.  The report was a clear attempt at character assassination and by all accounts was a completely incorrect accounting of what type of guy Deng is.

 

The question now becomes, what was the purpose of reading this incorrect, overtly negative report?  At this point they're choosing not to explain themselves so they're leaving us to interpret for ourselves.  Who in their right mind would view this in a positive light?

 

Are guys gonna want to void their contracts?  Clearly not and I don't think anyone suggested that would happen.  However, Ferry is in a position of having to sell the franchise not only to the masses but to prospective employees (players).  There's never any player who's only option to play in the league is with the Hawks.  There will never be a situation where the Hawks will be offering a substantial amount more than any other team.  To suggest that any player denying the Hawks' interest is costing himself a job isn't accurate IMHO.

 

That brings me back around to perceptions and impressions.  Right now the perception is out there that Ferry isn't exactly the most above-board guy in the league, so what impression is he going to have on prospective FAgent?  We can't just presume to ride with the current roster in perpetuity.  This matters and it has nothing to do with the media and it's not beyond the realm of reason to consider that a good percentage of players will be turned off by the rhetoric Ferry has admitted to using.

[OldTimeHawk]

Dude it became racial when he said African.  If he said he has a little a Jew in him Danny would be out right now.  If he said he had a little gay in him, gone.  Because it was African, eh, pc blah blah blah.   Either way you cut it he is slandering a race of people.  

 

 sorry I dont agree .  I cant go on what  he may have said - I know what he read and the context in which he read it.  Ferry has done nothing over his career that would lead me to believe hes a racist . I know there are folks out there that view things through their own personal lens and thats fine.  I just have a different definition of what constitutes a racist or racist behavior.

[Randy]

Its understandable that Ferry is hanging tough.  He resigns and his NBA career is probably over. But unless Ferry can make an explanation (backed up by the tape) that clears him he's become toxic.  He might have a very good explanation for all of this, that would satisfy all but the most biased critics, but he's not come up with or offered any. At some point, that becomes an admission.   The silence is deafening. 

[OldTimeHawk]

Sigh.  No one called you a racist.  It was an attempt at levity.

 

Again, it's not about racist/not-racist.  It's about perceptions and impressions.

 

Even if you don't believe anything about Ferry's comments were racially insensitive, the bottom line is Deng is one of the most respected players in the entire league for what he does on/off the court.  The report was a clear attempt at character assassination and by all accounts was a completely incorrect accounting of what type of guy Deng is.

 

The question now becomes, what was the purpose of reading this incorrect, overtly negative report?  At this point they're choosing not to explain themselves so they're leaving us to interpret for ourselves.  Who in their right mind would view this in a positive light?

 

Are guys gonna want to void their contracts?  Clearly not and I don't think anyone suggested that would happen.  However, Ferry is in a position of having to sell the franchise not only to the masses but to prospective employees (players).  There's never any player who's only option to play in the league is with the Hawks.  There will never be a situation where the Hawks will be offering a substantial amount more than any other team.  To suggest that any player denying the Hawks' interest is costing himself a job isn't accurate IMHO.

 

That brings me back around to perceptions and impressions.  Right now the perception is out there that Ferry isn't exactly the most above-board guy in the league, so what impression is he going to have on prospective FAgent?  We can't just presume to ride with the current roster in perpetuity.  This matters and it has nothing to do with the media and it's not beyond the realm of reason to consider that a good percentage of players will be turned off by the rhetoric Ferry has admitted to using.

 

 

 I know you didnt , but it irks me when the only perspective out there is   because Ferry read those words or uttered those words he must be a racist - because he didnt jump up in indignation he must be a racist.  If anyone has an opinion that doesnt agree with this line of thinking then  you too must be racist. 

 

 Yes it was insinsitive and maybe he should have done things differently , especially in a climate where if you are accused of being racist you are guilty until proven innocent.

 

 I understand there may be some that  will voice there distaste  but most of the NBA players understand this is a business , and they understand green - and Im willing to bet  most have dealt with Ferry and understand this is bs . In my opinion this is a powerplay  over ownership period.

[Admin]

Its understandable that Ferry is hanging tough. He resigns and his NBA career is probably over. But unless Ferry can make an explanation (backed up by the tape) that clears him he's become toxic. He might have a very good explanation for all of this, that would satisfy all but the most biased critics, but he's not come up with or offered any. At some point, that becomes an admission. The silence is deafening.

It's not an admission unless he resigns or is fired and still doesn't try to clear his name. Regardless of the reason for what he said I'm quite certain that he's under orders from Koonin and maybe even lawyers to not speak publicly about this right now.

[Guest]

 I know you didnt , but it irks me when the only perspective out there is   because Ferry read those words or uttered those words he must be a racist - because he didnt jump up in indignation he must be a racist.  If anyone has an opinion that doesnt agree with this line of thinking then  you too must be racist. 

 

 Yes it was insinsitive and maybe he should have done things differently , especially in a climate where if you are accused of being racist you are guilty until proven innocent.

 

 I understand there may be some that  will voice there distaste  but most of the NBA players understand this is a business , and they understand green - and Im willing to bet  most have dealt with Ferry and understand this is bs . In my opinion this is a powerplay  over ownership period.

 

I've been trying to drag people away from the is he racist/is he not racist talk because it's beyond that.  For me, it's about the likelihood of Ferry being able to do his job effectively.  I think that has been significantly diminished, rightly or wrongly.

 

Agree this is certainly a power play.  Most Hawks fans know that, unfortunately since they largely ignore our franchise, national folks don't know it.  I even heard some lauding Gearon as some kind of whistle blower.  C'mon.  That said, just like with the Sterling situation, it doesn't really matter how it got out, it's out now and it has to be dealt with.  Gearon basically squeezed the toothpaste out of the bottle but doesn't realize he can't put it back in.

 

Lastly, I agree NBA players understand it's a business.  However, we deal with too much crap as it is.  We don't need this lumped on top of all that.  We already start from square 1 in free agency, now we'll be starting from square -1,323,325.

[OldTimeHawk]

It's not an admission unless he resigns or is fired and still doesn't try to clear his name. Regardless of the reason for what he said I'm quite certain that he's under orders from Koonin and maybe even lawyers to not speak publicly about this right now.

 and thats only going to make it worse - unless they diffuse this now its gonna be messy - either he said it or he didnt - but its time for it to be cleared up  and get the community on their side.

[Admin]

and thats only going to make it worse - unless they diffuse this now its gonna be messy - either he said it or he didnt - but its time for it to be cleared up and get the community on their side.

I think it's too late, regardless of the situation or what they do next, to get the community on their side.

My best guess is we end up losing the ASG and Ferry in the next week or two. Just praying we get a good GM to replace Ferry and that Bud sticks around.

[Guest]

thats your interpretation - why the hell would he care if he was dishonest...... He was referring Deng looking like the real deal but not being able to deliver the goods. it was a scouting report relating to his basketball skills, not whether he was truthful .

You do know that that's YOUR interpretation also, right?

[OldTimeHawk]

You do know that that's YOUR interpretation also, right?

 

 of course - the biggest issue right now is that folks want an answer not silence . And in the eyes of people that perceive that Ferry made those comments and that they are indeed racist  this silence is becoming deafening.  I am thinking before the end of the day we will have more answers and a direction they are going to go . 

[AHF]

It's not an admission unless he resigns or is fired and still doesn't try to clear his name. Regardless of the reason for what he said I'm quite certain that he's under orders from Koonin and maybe even lawyers to not speak publicly about this right now.

 

I think it is viewed as an admission by the public.  If you will bear with me on a bit of a digression, I will talk about hearsay for a second because I think it ties out.  In court, there are rules against admission of hearsay evidence.  However, there are a number of exceptions to hearsay rules that allow you to use out of court statements to prove something where the law believes those statements were made under circumstances bolstering their credibility.  

 

Courts will sometimes allow an "implied admission" to serve as evidence of something where a person is silent or fails to respond in circumstances that call for a response.  This is a good explanation of the rule:

 

The idea behind an adoptive admission by silence is that most people, if falsely accused of a crime, would immediately deny it.  When someone does not deny it, that is an indication that the person has a guilty conscience.  A person's own words, or under these circumstances, their lack of words, can be powerful evidence against the defendant.

 

Here, Ferry is being accused of having slandered Deng with racist statements (either directly or through repeating someone else's racist comment).  I would ordinarily expect someone so accused to stand up for themselves and deny it if it were not true.  It is possible that the ASG have handcuffed Ferry and told him not to respond to the press but that only seems likely if there is not a compelling explanation (like the one you previously floated where Ferry stated those words to make a point about not using that scout anymore).  

 

The bottomline is that the general public is going to look at Ferry's silence the same way the law looks at an implied admission:  as good evidence of his guilt.

[tonegully]

They are really blowing this Danny Ferry stuff up. Its not that serious. People talk about him being able to attract FA. Free Agents didnt come here anyways. Before Ferry, so i dont know why people are so concerned about that.

[AHF]

They are really blowing this Danny Ferry stuff up. Its not that serious. People talk about him being able to attract FA. Free Agents didnt come here anyways. Before Ferry, so i dont know why people are so concerned about that.

 

Probably because Ferry has decided that free agency or trade is how we are going to land our star so it makes it kind of important whether we have a viable shot at a free agent that hasn't materialized yet (think Houston Rockets who tried for years before landing their guys) or we are shut out of the free agent market altogether.

[HawkItus]

Y

 

They are really blowing this Danny Ferry stuff up. Its not that serious. People talk about him being able to attract FA. Free Agents didnt come here anyways. Before Ferry, so i dont know why people are so concerned about that.

Go read the new Woj piece .....

Edited September 10, 2014 by HawkItus

[OldTimeHawk]

if enough people make it an issue its an issue - you can smoke crack on video and be relected - you can kill dogs and be reinstated -you can kill someone via vehicular homicide and be reinstated - heck you can  knock out your wife and can be reinstated -  but if you utter any comments that can be somehow construed as racist AND are white you are more than likely going to be destroyed.  In this day and age , you better have every word that comes out your mouth vetted by an approved spokesman - and you better burn the tape if it can be used against and kill the only witness and dispose of the body .

[HawkItus]

if enough people make it an issue its an issue - you can smoke crack on video and be relected - you can kill dogs and be reinstated -you can kill someone via vehicular homicide and be reinstated - heck you can  knock out your wife and can be reinstated -  but if you utter any comments that can be somehow construed as racist AND are white you are more than likely going to be destroyed.  In this day and age , you better have every word that comes out your mouth vetted by an approved spokesman - and you better burn the tape if it can be used against and kill the only witness and dispose of the body .

You can comeback from racist statements too.  Don Imus, Fuzzy Zeller, Paula Deene.  You can make it back.  Just don't expect it to be with the same company.   All those instances you mention the people paid terrible cost.  

[TheFuzz]

Whatever happens in the coming weeks, I hope Bud stays on as our coach. I'd rather not have to fire Ferry when it looked like we finally had some semblance of positive stability (in my opinion, of course, and I'm not alone), but Bud is the one who we really need to stay on.

[skimaskway23]

This was a witchhunt on gearon's part because apparently he felt there was no problem with levenson's email. He didnt like ferry and waited for an opportunity to trap him.

I am siding with ferry because I am not down with people losing their jobs over something as small as this. He wanted deng the most, but was doing his due diligence.

People panicking about us not being able to lure free agents anymore need to look at our track record. We will be fine with ferry and I stand by him.

[ViperXX79]

This was a witchhunt on gearon's part because apparently he felt there was no problem with levenson's email. He didnt like ferry and waited for an opportunity to trap him.

I am siding with ferry because I am not down with people losing their jobs over something as small as this. He wanted deng the most, but was doing his due diligence.

People panicking about us not being able to lure free agents anymore need to look at our track record. We will be fine with ferry and I stand by him.

It was a witch hunt but Ferry dug his own grave and has to reap the consequences.  So just because we can't lure free agents means it's perfectly fine to keep someone who's lack of ability to land free agents just got even worse.  Yeah that makes perfect sense.

[jvell]

Thank GOD Mr. Koonan hasnt fired Ferry. Lets be honest here people. Converations are held like that everyday across America. Be it a barbershop or a boardroom or emails. Im an African American and the comments dont really bother me at all. See, I dont hold people in the "sports" business to high moral standards anyways. Thats just me. I know its a cut throat game out there.

 

Soon Americans will not be able to have an opinion about anything. I think Danny Ferry has done a great job with our team and this something i would give a slap on the wrist. If Ferry said what he said out loud then i think its some bigger issues that need to be addressed, if we are all about peoples feelings.

 

Im shocked the city of Atlanta even cares. Hell they dont show up to the games to support the team but now everyone has an opinion about Danny Ferry. I hope Danny Ferry stays and the first thing he should do is to fly to where Loul Deng is at and apologize to him face to face, like a grown man should.  The whole organization needs to have some type of racial/ethinic training because i think Ferry wouldnt say nothing like that out loud if it was an accepted form of behavior.  I would also give him a nice heavy fine. 

 

Then keep it moving. Lets get ready for camp.

[Not confronting racial stereotypes only perpetuate more of the same. There is a reason for the wealth gap in america and the people in power with negative views does have financial impact. Having more diverse people sitting around the table help to reduce this nonsense./quote]