CViv: 'Timeline: How the Hawks’ controversy surfaced'

[Guest]

How is the AJC getting all of this? Gearon? These discussions should never be seen by the public because they were private conversations in a multi million dollar business. I'm not talking about the racial stuff either. I'm talking about these guys discussing free agents, Ryan Cameraon, etc. These types of things are discussed all the time in businesses and are not meant for other people to hear them. Owners and managers talk all the time about their employees and if that employee or other people heard the negative things it would create conflict.

 

Anybody hearing them talk about some negative things with certain people will over react and this whole thing will continue to snowball. We don't really know what Ferry said about Cameron and Ferry was new here at the time. Did anything change with Cameron? He didn't get fired or demoted did he?

 

Why don't we hear about other stuff that was mentioned in the conversation with Ferry and Levenson after that first email?  I'm almost positive if it was negative we would be reading it.

 

I tend to agree.  I'm sure all our bosses (for those of us who have bosses) discuss things they both like and dislike about us but we're never meant to hear it.  Your boss isn't required to like you, they are required to "grade" you based on the merit of your work.

 

This whole ordeal both reveals and masks (via the race-related comments) the real problems with our franchise: INEPT clOWNERSHIP AND POOR MANAGEMENT.  It's plagued us for decades.  My only hope is this is such a black eye for the league that they have no choice but to step in and get the ship righted.

[NekiEcko]

Please keep Ferry on board...man this team is cursed. We will lose Ferry and then everyone else will abandon ship. SO who are the top draft pick in 2016

 

I dont think that will be possible, even if he is in the clear (I dont think he is), the trust that he had with the city and fans is almost none and it will make it harder to promote this team.

 

Like I say ealier in one of the threads that he could have proofread the information or even telling the ownership and NBA about this before or after the meeting but he did not do it.

Edited September 12, 2014 by NekiEcko

[tonegully]

I dont think that will be possible, even if he is in the clear (I dont think he is), the truth that he had with the city and fans is almost none and it will make it harder to promote this team.

Thats funny. The city and the fans...you made me laugh. Last time i saw the Hawks phillps was empty as usual besides barely selling out a playoff game.

I would let Ferry ride it out and see what happens. Its not like we have attracted a top 10 FA here in the last 10-15 years anyways.

[Guest]

Thats funny. The city and the fans...you made me laugh. Last time i saw the Hawks phillps was empty as usual besides barely selling out a playoff game.

.

I did have a good chuckle at that.

[mrhonline]

Ryan Cameron is over-the-top, huh? Who would've thought that Diesel would be so accurate with his "elite is as elite does" shtick?

Edited September 12, 2014 by mrhonline

[lethalweapon3]

Before Zach Klein's and C-Viv's next little bombshell drops, somebody please help me with this one.

 

June 16. There's an investigation internally done by the Hawks to search for any electronic communication that could remotely be construed as racially insensitive.

 

Tens of thousands of e-mails get culled. Before the investigation even gains steam, ONE string from two years ago gets plucked, a discussion coincidentally sprung by the Hawks co-owner who initiated the investigation. Nothing else from the investigation was reported to have been red-flagged

 

Rather than face punitive action ("40 lashes with a wet noodle!") from the team, or the league, the co-owner announces he's getting out and selling his share.

 

And that's all we needed to know, maybe more than we needed to know. Whether we needed to know why that owner is leaving is beyond me, but that's not my issue right now.

 

This is my issue: where does Luol Deng, or anything Danny Ferry said or read about him, fall into any of that?

 

Why did we, the public, the fans, the players, need to know anything that happened before June 16? The Hawks had a ready-made rationale for the investigation, should they even choose to disclose what they were doing behind the scenes, named Donald MotherFreaking Sterling. Look at the timeline again. Why does what was initiated on June 16 have to be explained, to the public, by whatever happened on June 6?

 

Further, why couldn't they handle the Ferry/Deng business in-house, immediately? Why didn't Gearon, or ANY other co-owner on the call, simply stop Ferry in his tracks, declare that what they're hearing is unacceptable and a potential violation of company policy, and direct him to start over with a critique free of geo-racial insensitivity? Why did they have to wait for some lawyer's report to offer up an in-house reprimand? Are the Hawks' HR guidelines that crappy?

 

Yes, I know Adam Silver is looking at the Ferry issue through Blue Devil-tinted glasses. But still, this is probably where the Commish is coming from. When does something Ferry said on an internal team's conference call become something the NBA league office, nevermind the rest of the free world, has to care about now?

 

~lw3

[Admin]

Ryan Cameron is over-the-top, huh? Who would've thought that Diesel would be so accurate with his "elite is as elite does" shtick?

Diesel being right about something is the worst part of all of this mess!

[Guest]

@lethalweapon3 you've done it. You've basically put everything together and spelled it out without actually saying it.

And you're right. This isn't at all about race relations or anything that a person with feelings or a soul should care about. It is Gearon Junior trying in as many different ways to get what he wanted all along. Control of the team. He could have had Levenson gone and might have been able to get enough capital to grab a controlling share of the team (dependent upon allowances and if he completed his chores for the week). But when word came down that no one thought Ferry should be fired from his comments, well dammit this is going out to CVMZ one way or another! If he can't get his owner-buddies to do things his way, maybe he can twist public perception so they can see it fit his way.

In a sense, he's won. The only people who recognize this are people who follow the Hawks and can think critically. They already know that the former is a small group, and taken without context of being a Hawks fan the latter is also a small group. But if you're a Hawks fan, you also are smarter than the average fan. And we see right through this. There's no way in hell the fans will be able to let Gearon "get away" with this. Oh no. There will be backlash.

 

It's too bad the race stuff will be the smoke screen Gearon needs to get away with this.  People are too focused on touting Barkley and the greatest GM of all time (B. King) for vouching for Ferry.

 

Unless one of you is the CEO of Coke and can halt ad dollars or something Gearon is likely to win this thing.  Our tiny fanbase can't do enough to make a dent.  Half of us are still arguing over whether or not the comments were racist.

 

That's what Gearon wants.  Stop letting him get away with it.

 

Also, your comment about allowances almost got me, but ...

 

ISWYDT

[tonegully]

@lethalweapon3 you've done it. You've basically put everything together and spelled it out without actually saying it.

And you're right. This isn't at all about race relations or anything that a person with feelings or a soul should care about. It is Gearon Junior trying in as many different ways to get what he wanted all along. Control of the team. He could have had Levenson gone and might have been able to get enough capital to grab a controlling share of the team (dependent upon allowances and if he completed his chores for the week). But when word came down that no one thought Ferry should be fired from his comments, well dammit this is going out to CVMZ one way or another! If he can't get his owner-buddies to do things his way, maybe he can twist public perception so they can see it fit his way.

In a sense, he's won. The only people who recognize this are people who follow the Hawks and can think critically. They already know that the former is a small group, and taken without context of being a Hawks fan the latter is also a small group. But if you're a Hawks fan, you also are smarter than the average fan. And we see right through this. There's no way in hell the fans will be able to let Gearon "get away" with this. Oh no. There will be backlash.

If Gearon takes charge of this team. I will no longer buy Hawks merchandise and i will not follow them like i have been doing for many years. Ill check their record but as far as League Pass i cant do it.

He pisses me off because he is doing this out of spite. Not that he though it was wrong. If he thought it was wrong, he wouldve voiced his opinon right there on that tape. He wouldve stopped Ferry in his tracks and corrected him, he didnt.

[HawkItus]

Before Zach Klein's and C-Viv's next little bombshell drops, somebody please help me with this one.

 

June 16. There's an investigation internally done by the Hawks to search for any electronic communication that could remotely be construed as racially insensitive.

 

Tens of thousands of e-mails get culled. Before the investigation even gains steam, ONE string from two years ago gets plucked, a discussion coincidentally sprung by the Hawks co-owner who initiated the investigation. Nothing else from the investigation was reported to have been red-flagged

 

Rather than face punitive action ("40 lashes with a wet noodle!") from the team, or the league, the co-owner announces he's getting out and selling his share.

 

And that's all we needed to know, maybe more than we needed to know. Whether we needed to know why that owner is leaving is beyond me, but that's not my issue right now.

 

This is my issue: where does Luol Deng, or anything Danny Ferry said or read about him, fall into any of that?

 

Why did we, the public, the fans, the players, need to know anything that happened before June 16? The Hawks had a ready-made rationale for the investigation, should they even choose to disclose what they were doing behind the scenes, named Donald MotherFreaking Sterling. Look at the timeline again. Why does what was initiated on June 16 have to be explained, to the public, by whatever happened on June 6?

 

Further, why couldn't they handle the Ferry/Deng business in-house, immediately? Why didn't Gearon, or ANY other co-owner on the call, simply stop Ferry in his tracks, declare that what they're hearing is unacceptable and a potential violation of company policy, and direct him to start over with a critique free of geo-racial insensitivity? Why did they have to wait for some lawyer's report to offer up an in-house reprimand? Are the Hawks' HR guidelines that crappy?

 

Yes, I know Adam Silver is looking at the Ferry issue through Blue Devil-tinted glasses. But still, this is probably where the Commish is coming from. When does something Ferry said on an internal team's conference call become something the NBA league office, nevermind the rest of the free world, has to care about now?

 

~lw3

But, the problem is, it is out there now.  Its the same with corporate america, the government, and entertainment.  If you say something you wouldn't dare say in public, you better damn well make sure it isn't being recorded.  Ask Donald Sterling, Mel Gibson, and Mitt Romney.

[AHF]

Why did we, the public, the fans, the players, need to know anything that happened before June 16?  Why does what was initiated on June 16 have to be explained, to the public, by whatever happened on June 6?

 

Further, why couldn't they handle the Ferry/Deng business in-house, immediately? Why didn't Gearon, or ANY other co-owner on the call, simply stop Ferry in his tracks, declare that what they're hearing is unacceptable and a potential violation of company policy, and direct him to start over with a critique free of geo-racial insensitivity? Why did they have to wait for some lawyer's report to offer up an in-house reprimand? Are the Hawks' HR guidelines that crappy?

 

When does something Ferry said on an internal team's conference call become something the NBA league office, nevermind the rest of the free world, has to care about now?

 

~lw3

 

Same answer to all these questions:

 

Gearon wanted the public backlash directed at Levenson and Ferry.