Conference Call, Scouting Report Released on AJC.com

[kerrypack]

I told you guys those were his comments.  He lied to cover his ass because it was a conference call.  I'm not sure if the Ferry Love is blinding people or folks really don't know how to put context around a conversation.  Danny Ferry isn't a racist.  It's a racist/insensitive comment, but Ferry isn't a neo-nazi, skinhead, bigot, or any of that other kind of ridiculousness.  

 

The comment itself is really bad.  Do you people realize that Ferry has called out the entire continent of Africa?  He's not perfect and what he means by that is he has some African in him.  This is the same as seeing a white guy chug a bunch of bear and saying, "yeah he's got some Irish in him."  Or seeing a light skinned dude surfing saying, "yeah, he's got some white in him."  Or a teacher grading a math quiz from an chinese kid and saying, "yeah, he's got some Asian in him."

 

The problem with Ferry's statement is that it's a negative context.  He's equating having African in a person to being prone to dishonesty/cheating/etc...and I'm sure he doesn't mean the Caucasian population in Africa.  

 

This is bad for us and you people need to stop crying about losing Ferry.  We need a reboot.

 

*edit for the craziness of all this that's f***ing up my grammar.

well... he is a skinhead.

[Admin]

I don't see any evidence that these were his own words. As someone mentioned earlier, it's entirely possible he was paraphrasing. Go back and listen to how many times he pauses between sentences while talking about. To me that sounds like it's someone reading from a paper or off of a projector. It's also possible that they were his own words, just saying I don't see any clear evidence here that these are his own words.

 

Now I will also agree that he said those words far too easily. I still don't think after listening to this that he was being racist about it. Honestly I don't know what he was being about it, other than dumb. These were dumb and insensitive comments and I just don't understand the purpose of them. 

 

My guess is that he was trying to dumb down his free agent search and description for the ASG, likely thinking they have no idea who these players really are and that's why he was talking the way he was in sounding like a HS poster. 

 

Is this enough to get him fired? It certainly could be. Should it be? I don't know, I'm really torn. Considering this is the 1st strike against him and he certainly didn't come off as malicious, I think he should be given a short leash and another chance, barring something else major coming out against him.

[HawkItus]

I need to know what the punishment was. A huge donation to African charities, a demotion, and loss of autonomy in player personnel. That should be the starting point.

[NekiEcko]

Dol,

I don't know man. It sound like he wasn't reading off from the report. My opinion of course but Twitter is destroying Ferry right now

[mrhonline]

 

My guess is that he was trying to dumb down his free agent search and description for the ASG

 

I'm certain that's exactly what he was doing. I think it was the Woj article that said this was a call with the minority owners, so "dumbing it down" would be likely. Ferry probably saw the call as a waste of his time.

 

Personally, I think we're well past the point of examining the details. This is about public perception, and there's not much you can do to turn back the tide at this point (if you'd even want to).

[mrhonline]

Huh. So one group puts in effort and does the research while the other talks out of their ass. You must be a Red Terror?

 

The joke I always heard as a NC high schooler was that the UNC dorks design the drugs, the State rednecks sell them, and the Duke yuppies buy them.

But please know that I'm only reading off a scouting report. These are not my words.

(Man, I hope AHF isn't recording this text right now).

[Admin]

I'm certain that's exactly what he was doing. I think it was the Woj article that said this was a call with the minority owners, so "dumbing it down" would be likely. Ferry probably saw the call as a waste of his time.

 

Personally, I think we're well past the point of examining the details. This is about public perception, and there's not much you can do to turn back the tide at this point (if you'd even want to).

 

Yep I think that's right, it's all about public perception and if he / we can come back from that. 

Dol,

I don't know man. It sound like he wasn't reading off from the report. My opinion of course but Twitter is destroying Ferry right now

 

Yeah of course they are right now, but give it 24-48 hours and it won't sound nearly as bad. I don't know if Ferry will still have a job then, but Twitter is about instant reactions and instant gratification, it's not about putting thought into your thoughts before sharing them.

[DJlaysitup]

"Locker room Lawyer" is akin to what we always used to call enlisted guys in the Navy who stood up for themselves and also talked around.  Not "Company men" who would blindly follow orders.

 

This is total b_llsh!t.  Leaders know how to lead.  If you are afraid of any minor thing and don't feel you can handle that - you shouldn't be in charge.  I lead a Department of young men (40+) on 3 separate 6 months Navy cruises.  I had my share of "Navy lawyers" in the ranks...but I didn't deal with them with an iron fist (which you can actually do in the military - unlike civilian life)...no...I listened a little bit...and sometimes they were right.

 

Sometimes the boss has to have a little more brains...being a Dictator is easy...being an effective leader in the 21st Century requires a bit more intelligence.

 

I wish like H#LL Danny Ferry could read that last sentence - that would burn his ass - somebody with leadership experience in the military - telling him he needed more "intelligence"...would flip him out. 

 

.

.

Edited September 12, 2014 by DJlaysitup

[kerrypack]

I don't see any evidence that these were his own words. As someone mentioned earlier, it's entirely possible he was paraphrasing. Go back and listen to how many times he pauses between sentences while talking about. To me that sounds like it's someone reading from a paper or off of a projector. It's also possible that they were his own words, just saying I don't see any clear evidence here that these are his own words.

 

Now I will also agree that he said those words far too easily. I still don't think after listening to this that he was being racist about it. Honestly I don't know what he was being about it, other than dumb. These were dumb and insensitive comments and I just don't understand the purpose of them. 

 

My guess is that he was trying to dumb down his free agent search and description for the ASG, likely thinking they have no idea who these players really are and that's why he was talking the way he was in sounding like a HS poster. 

 

Is this enough to get him fired? It certainly could be. Should it be? I don't know, I'm really torn. Considering this is the 1st strike against him and he certainly didn't come off as malicious, I think he should be given a short leash and another chance, barring something else major coming out against him.

yeah, i'd think he recycled someone else's comments and jokes about deng.  note that i hate duke, so I'm not defending ferry blindly.  really stupid comment.

 

ferry is a skinhead and ncstate fans are pricks.  out.

[Guest]

Hey C-Viv: Where's the scouting report? Don't do thing half-assed.

I would like to hear from our Atlanta Hawks players.

I would also like to hear from other NBA players.

[Guest]

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution released an audio recording Thursday evening of the conference call, which has called into question whether Ferry was reading or speaking on his own accord.

But a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports that an NBA investigator previously had seen the report and also heard the recording. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the investigation. And Silver has acknowledged the existence of the scouting report and referenced its role in the matter as part of his reasoning for not believing that Ferry should be fired. USA Today Sports - See more at: http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm#sthash.9YbOnMp3.dpuf

[Guest]

For perspective, we spoke with a group that includes two longtime front-office executives and one longtime NBA scout. Front-office executive: "I have not encountered a lot of 'racial profiling' within the internal scouting reports that I have been privy to. ... Often times when reading a scouting report on an African-American player, I have been accustomed to reading language like: 'athletic,' 'instinctive,' 'God-given ability,' 'cocky' and 'tough.' While language common in a scouting report of a white player reads more like: 'smart,' 'hard working,' 'confident' and 'heady.' You can see the subtle messaging at play here. USA Today Sports

Atlanta Hawks, Danny Ferry

- See more at: http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm#sthash.9YbOnMp3.dpuf

Front-office executive: "When you go to games, you talk to coaches and write down what they say to you. It is unusual for them to say something racist, but not (unusual) that (a player) is a con-man and so forth. That would be unusual for someone to say something racist, like, 'He has African in him,' would be unusual." USA Today Sports

Atlanta Hawks, Danny Ferry

"Race does come up occasionally when you're talking about 'big, slow white guys' — but again, is that racist? Or does it reflect reality that a lot of big white guys are in fact slow? When the 'slow white guy' term is used, I don't think anybody is offended, white or black. USA Today Sports

- See more at: http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm#sthash.9YbOnMp3.dpuf

Edited September 12, 2014 by JayBirdHawk

[IheartVolt]

Guess that puts the doubt about the scouting report to bed

[Admin]

More from JayBird's quotes - http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/hawks/2014/09/11/scouts-executives-danny-ferry-racism-atlanta-luol-deng-scouting-report/15449739/
 

If Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry were the original source of the racist scouting report he read about Luol Deng, he might be out of a job.

But the report about the free agent forward, which Ferry claims to have read during a conference call with the Hawks' ownership group, came from an external scout.
 
"He's got some African in him," Ferry read in June. "And I don't say that in a bad way. But he's like a guy who would have a nice store out front but sell your counterfeit stuff out of the back."
 
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday that he did not think the longtime executive should lose his job, though he called Ferry's comments "inappropriate and unacceptable."
 
Magic Johnson and Jalen Rose are among those who have said they think Ferry should be fired, thereby echoing the stance of Hawks minority owner Michael Gearon Jr. after he demanded Ferry be removed in a letter to majority owner Bruce Levenson that first revealed the comments.
 
Ferry's comments led to an internal investigation that uncovered a racially charged e-mail from majority owner Levenson that he self-reported to the NBA in July. Levenson has since agreed to sell the Hawks.
 
Ferry's actions have been blamed partly on the existence of a scouting report that the he said he was reading from. While it remains unclear to what extent the report guided his commentary or who the author (or authors) of the document were, this anonymous piece of evidence is playing a significant part.
 
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution released an audio recording Thursday evening of the conference call, which has called into question whether Ferry was reading or speaking on his own accord.
 
But a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports that an NBA investigator previously had seen the report and also heard the recording. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the investigation. And Silver has acknowledged the existence of the scouting report and referenced its role in the matter as part of his reasoning for not believing that Ferry should be fired.
 
Is this kind of racial and ethnic talk the exception or norm in the world of NBA scouting? For perspective, we spoke with a group that includes two longtime front-office executives and one longtime NBA scout.
 
Front-office executive:
 
"I have not encountered a lot of 'racial profiling' within the internal scouting reports that I have been privy to. ... Often times when reading a scouting report on an African-American player, I have been accustomed to reading language like: 'athletic,' 'instinctive,' 'God-given ability,' 'cocky' and 'tough.' While language common in a scouting report of a white player reads more like: 'smart,' 'hard working,' 'confident' and 'heady.' You can see the subtle messaging at play here.
 
"If a scouting report did include that type of language that is being reported out of Atlanta, I can't imagine a (general manager), black or white, being comfortable enough to read that to anyone in the organization, especially ownership. There is no real reason to have that type of opinion or 'information' in a scouting report. Either a player is good enough or he is not. And either the player's character and personality fit your team or it does not. Racially biased opinions will hold your team back from achieving any type of real success."
 
Front-office executive:
 
"When you go to games, you talk to coaches and write down what they say to you. It is unusual for them to say something racist, but not (unusual) that (a player) is a con-man and so forth. That would be unusual for someone to say something racist, like, 'He has African in him,' would be unusual."
 
Scout:
 
"I think a racially tinged report, as Ferry evidently read, is exceptionally rare. I personally have never read one (and would never write such garbage). I think you do hear (rather than read) from time to time about the age factor with African-born players, that scouts/GMs/personnel people think they are actually older than their stated age, etc. Is that notion about age racist? I don't think so, though there is an element of stereotyping going on. But there's also probably some truth to it.
 
"Race does come up occasionally when you're talking about 'big, slow white guys' — but again, is that racist? Or does it reflect reality that a lot of big white guys are in fact slow? When the 'slow white guy' term is used, I don't think anybody is offended, white or black. We're in the business of evaluating players and character is obviously a huge part of that. But ascribing those character traits to racial factors is just not the norm and rare."

[Admin]

Hey C-Viv: Where's the scouting report? Don't do thing half-assed.

I would like to hear from our Atlanta Hawks players.

I would also like to hear from other NBA players.

 

They gotta string us along! If they release something every 24-48 hours, they can keep the story going. I'm sure Gearon is releasing this info strategically to C-Viv.

[Sothron]

There's no way I see Ferry surviving this. He clearly was making these remarks off the cuff. I don't think the guy is a racist but that comment and train of thought it went into was absolutely racist.

Nique with Arthur Blank need to buy the A$G out and bring in new peeps. If Nique wants to keep Ferry, I'm cool with that but honestly I don't see how Ferry can make it through new ownership.

[DJlaysitup]

Danny Ferry may have a little racial outlook in him...but not in a bad way (wink).

 

 

(DF: "Loul has a little African in him...but not in a bad way")

.

Edited September 12, 2014 by DJlaysitup

[ViperXX79]

Danny Ferry may have a little "Neo-Nazi" in him...but not in a bad way (wink).

 

 

(DF: "Loul has a little African in him...but not in a bad way")

.

Sounds more sexual now that it's really sinking in...

[Guest]

Sam Amick: Hawks official says Danny Ferry isn't on Twitter, thus @ATLHawksGM is not a real account & he has not announced his departure. CC: @Amin Elhassan Twitter @sam_amick

Lol - someone created a fake DF Twitter account? Just too much time on their hands.

[DJlaysitup]

I changed the Neo-Nazi to better reveal my feelings - got carried away by a previous post.  He's just got some "feelings"  IMO...and they likely came from previous experiences with the way the game was called in the Stern years.  Shaq probably ran over him a bunch of times with no fouls called - the game turned into entertainment and he was a Washington General and he was pissed.