Merged: Danny Ferry mega thread

[bumpyphish1]

Hi @bumpyphish1, that thread is here!

 

http://hawksquawk.net/community/topic/403156-merged-danny-ferry-mega-thread/

 

Merge in a minute.

 

~lw3

 

Thanks for the heads up!

[RandomFan]

The new owners made this call and part of the condition of the sale was that the old owners would do this prior to the sale and they would pay for it.

 

 

And you have evidence for this statement of fact, of course?

[HawkItus]

It is funny how people are quick to jump on Thabo for a "decision" that turned out bad for the team and then defend Ferry for a decision that turned out bad for the franchise.  Hmmm.

[Guest]

It is funny how people are quick to jump on Thabo for a "decision" that turned out bad for the team and then defend Ferry for a decision that turned out bad for the franchise.  Hmmm.

What in the world are you talking about?

[HawkItus]

What in the world are you talking about?

Thabo= Goes out to a club.  Is abused by the police.  Out for the playoffs.  People kill the guy for going out on his free time.

 

Ferry= Reads a racially/ethnically charged scouting report.  Gets set up by Gearon.  Out for the season/eventually released after public scandal about commits.  People love the guy and think he can do no wrong.  

[macdaddy]

Ferry was screwed.  Everyone makes mistakes.   He deserved to be fired if there was evidence of racial bias which there was none.   He did his job very, very well

[Guest]

Thabo= Goes out to a club.  Is abused by the police.  Out for the playoffs.  People kill the guy for going out on his free time.

 

Ferry= Reads a racially/ethnically charged scouting report.  Gets set up by Gearon.  Out for the season/eventually released after public scandal about commits.  People love the guy and think he can do no wrong.

I'm seeing a quadrant of choices, two of which are illogical as you seem to be implying:

Thabo: bad; Ferry: bad --- logical

Thabo: bad; Ferry: OK --- your point, illogical

Thabo: OK; Ferry: bad --- illogical

Thabo: OK; Ferry: OK --- logical

I don't know who you are pointing out implicitly on the board, but it seems just as wrong to be OK with Thabo going to the club and hating on Ferry. This is what I'm grasping from what you've said.

I'm also a bit perplexed. Is this some sort of an admission from you that Ferry leaving the franchise is bad? That Ferry was a good GM, and gosh darnit if he just didn't get set up by reading that report that the Hawks would be in better shape? You've been terse in explaining yourself, so it's hard for me to pinpoint what you actually mean. Because sometimes it sounds like you are of the camp that thinks "Ferry has to go because of the Dortches of the city (no explanation if this is fair or not)" then "Ferry isn't *that* great we have others doing the work (appearing to dissuade any and all credit towards Ferry)" but also I'm reading your recent post as one that thinks Ferry was a good GM.

[HawkItus]

I'm seeing a quadrant of choices, two of which are illogical as you seem to be implying:

Thabo: bad; Ferry: bad --- logical

Thabo: bad; Ferry: OK --- your point, illogical

Thabo: OK; Ferry: bad --- illogical

Thabo: OK; Ferry: OK --- logical

I don't know who you are pointing out implicitly on the board, but it seems just as wrong to be OK with Thabo going to the club and hating on Ferry. This is what I'm grasping from what you've said.

I'm also a bit perplexed. Is this some sort of an admission from you that Ferry leaving the franchise is bad? That Ferry was a good GM, and gosh darnit if he just didn't get set up by reading that report that the Hawks would be in better shape? You've been terse in explaining yourself, so it's hard for me to pinpoint what you actually mean. Because sometimes it sounds like you are of the camp that thinks "Ferry has to go because of the Dortches of the city (no explanation if this is fair or not)" then "Ferry isn't *that* great we have others doing the work (appearing to dissuade any and all credit towards Ferry)" but also I'm reading your recent post as one that thinks Ferry was a good GM.

I think you are looking for something that doesn't exist.  I don't have platform beyond wanting to see a Hawk's(any Atlanta team) win a title.  I have stated on Ferry that I would have been fine with a Public apology, some form of punishment(but seeing the law firms report I understand this wouldn't have been appropriate).  At this point I'm angry at Ferry for not using better judgement and excluding that part of the report.  I am upset with Gearon for escalating what should have been an internal matter.  In the end I am happy that we have Bud, new ownership, and what will apparently be a less toxic work environment.  If we could go back to July or so and none this happened I would be fine with Ferry and the course he has presently set us upon.  I just want to win.  My observation about the Thabo/Ferry reaction dichotomy is just that.  I am attuned to inconsistencies and like to make note of them.  

[AHF]

And you have evidence for this statement of fact, of course?

 

Just laughably easy logic and some experience in M&A sales.

 

1 - There is no reason for the ASG to wait to terminate Ferry if they made the decision to do so independent of the new owners.  By waiting, they only increase their risk (because it shows the situation did not warrant immediate termination which would undermine their claim that he was termianted for cause) and make the media situation worse because Ferry looked at his worst when this was fresh and by extension the team would have looked like it really cared about the race angle if it moved promptly.  By waiting until now, they only increase their legal risk and hurt the PR bump they could have had...unless this is a move being made by the new owners as part of the sale.

 

2 - By making this move mere days before the sale is finalized, it is incredibly clear that the ASG would not be terminating him if the new owners wanted to keep him.  It would be a condition of the sale that he stay on.  

 

3 - Conversely, it is obvious that if the new owners don't want to keep Ferry that they would want this move to be made prior to the sale being finalized.  They don't want to be on the hook for the buyout, they don't want the legal risk of moving to terminate him when the ASG can take that, and they don't want their acquisition of the team to be anything but a positive story and the dredging up of everything Ferry would distract from that.

 

I don't  have any direct facts to back this up.  Just a pattern of circumstances that gives me a very, very, very high degree of confidence via circumstantial evidence.

[AHF]

I think you are looking for something that doesn't exist.  I don't have platform beyond wanting to see a Hawk's(any Atlanta team) win a title.  I have stated on Ferry that I would have been fine with a Public apology, some form of punishment(but seeing the law firms report I understand this wouldn't have been appropriate).  At this point I'm angry at Ferry for not using better judgement and excluding that part of the report.  I am upset with Gearon for escalating what should have been an internal matter.  In the end I am happy that we have Bud, new ownership, and what will apparently be a less toxic work environment.  If we could go back to July or so and none this happened I would be fine with Ferry and the course he has presently set us upon.  I just want to win.  My observation about the Thabo/Ferry reaction dichotomy is just that.  I am attuned to inconsistencies and like to make note of them.  

 

I think you are creating the Thabo/Ferry "dichotomy" out of whole cloth.  Many fans were critical both of Ferry and Thabo.  I am one of them.  I want Thabo back and I wanted Ferry back.  I never considered for a moment that Thabo's decision to party into the early hours of the morning on a game day was so bad to warrant him never returning.  I did have that discussion about Ferry, primarily as it related to whether he could sell the franchise to free agents.  

 

If you use me as an example, there is no dichotomy.  

 

Now looking at the spectrum of Hawks fans, you will see a pretty even mix with some who were critical of Thabo and others who thought his judgment was perfectly fine.  Almost no one wanted him gone.  With Ferry, you saw an almost universal criticism of him with the variation really about degree of criticism - was this something that showed a fundamental flaw in his character or simply bad judgment in choosing to read the report without comment.  A decent number wanted him gone and that has reduced to a small number today.  By any measure I can contemplate sitting here this morning, the criticism of Ferry has been much harsher than that of Thabo.

 

Now one thing to note is that you shouldn't confuse anger at Gearon for defense of Ferry.  Just like many agree with Belkin about the merits of adding draft picks in to secure JJ and yet hate his guts for dragging the team through the mud and muck in his attempt at a hostile takeover, many would likely be sympathetic to Gearon for wanting to internally address Ferry's comments but are utterly repulsed by his decision to make the team look like a bunch of #$##$#$s to pursue his political power struggle with Levenson.  Just because people hate what Gearon did doesn't mean they think Ferry is a saint.

[Guest]

I think you are looking for something that doesn't exist.

Dude, I'm trying to understand what you are saying. If it looks like I am "searching" for something then maybe that should be a clue to you that you aren't doing a good job of letting posters know what you are talking about or what your point is. Your posts generally read somewhere between a random section of a High School book report to a cryptically intelligent thought. So I'm trying to figure out what the hell you mean so as to not misinterpret your point.

[lethalweapon3]

#CVivBomb

 

Tweet Added - Refresh Page to see it live!

If you don't see the Tweet here AFTER REFRESHING PAGE, then it wasn't entered correctly. Please edit and try again.

Important: If the Tweet doesn't load, please refresh the page before editing the Tweet as it may need to refresh to parse properly

 

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

How do you spell "relief"? B-U-Y-O-U-T.

 

http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/basketball/exclusive-danny-ferry-relieved-following-buyout-of/nmhzT/

 

Q. We reported that the Bernard Taylor investigation cleared you of any racial animus regarding your remarks about Luol Deng. Do you feel vindicated?

A. That’s not really for me to say. But I do feel relieved. I’ve been asking the Hawks for many months to release the results of the Taylor investigation because I wanted everyone to have those facts. For whatever reason, the team refused to release the results until after the season ended. The Taylor investigation included 19 interviews of Hawks owners and employees, and a review of 24,000 emails—including every one I wrote and received as general manager. Both the Taylor investigation and a parallel but independent investigation by the NBA found no negative information about me and not a single incident where I exhibited racial bias during my tenure. Now, does that make my comments about Luol okay? Absolutely not. The words I used from the scouting report came out of my mouth and they were totally inappropriate. I am deeply sorry and take full responsibility.

 

 

~lw3

[HawkItus]

#CVivBomb

 

 

~lw3

 

 

A. That’s not really for me to say. But I do feel relieved. I’ve been asking the Hawks for many months to release the results of the Taylor investigation because I wanted everyone to have those facts. For whatever reason, the team refused to release the results until after the season ended. The Taylor investigation included 19 interviews of Hawks owners and employees, and a review of 24,000 emails—including every one I wrote and received as general manager. Both the Taylor investigation and a parallel but independent investigation by the NBA found no negative information about me and not a single incident where I exhibited racial bias during my tenure. Now, does that make my comments about Luol okay? Absolutely not. The words I used from the scouting report came out of my mouth and they were totally inappropriate. I am deeply sorry and take full responsibility.

If they would have let him say this at the beginning he might still be our GM and we might have a championship.

[lethalweapon3]

"I'm told buyout."

 

Tweet Added - Refresh Page to see it live!

If you don't see the Tweet here AFTER REFRESHING PAGE, then it wasn't entered correctly. Please edit and try again.

Important: If the Tweet doesn't load, please refresh the page before editing the Tweet as it may need to refresh to parse properly

 

~lw3

[AHF]

"I'm told buyout."

 

 

~lw3

 

Obvious, but good clarification.

[lethalweapon3]

Farewell! Adieu! Auf Weidersehen! Goodbye!

 

Tweet Added - Refresh Page to see it live!

If you don't see the Tweet here AFTER REFRESHING PAGE, then it wasn't entered correctly. Please edit and try again.

Important: If the Tweet doesn't load, please refresh the page before editing the Tweet as it may need to refresh to parse properly

 

~lw3

[HawkItus]

Dude, I'm trying to understand what you are saying. If it looks like I am "searching" for something then maybe that should be a clue to you that you aren't doing a good job of letting posters know what you are talking about or what your point is. Your posts generally read somewhere between a random section of a High School book report to a cryptically intelligent thought. So I'm trying to figure out what the hell you mean so as to not misinterpret your point.

I don't know what to tell you.  I think I have explained it as best I can.  As AHF pointed out maybe I'm wrong.

[Guest]

The thing that still gets me hung up on all of this is that Ferry requested the results to be released back in September...yet, didn't we have Nique making multiple radio interviews about "why bring back negativity" even though...well I will stop there. I need to think about this stuff some more before I fly off the handle with accusations.

[Guest]

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks announced today that Danny Ferry has stepped down as General Manager of the team.  The move follows an indefinite leave of absence Ferry began in August, at the request of the team.  The leave was triggered by the unauthorized release of an audio recording containing a brief portion of a lengthy conference call with team ownership and others during which Ferry repeated and paraphrased language from a third-party scouting report that contained a culturally insensitive characterization of a player.

Prior to today’s announcement, the Hawks organization retained a highly respected law firm, Alston & Bird LLP, and specifically a team led by senior partner Bernard Taylor, to investigate whether the remarks were racially motivated.  Investigators conducted 19 witness interviews, including interviews of Ferry and several Hawks owners, and reviewed the contents of more than 24,000 emails, including every available work email sent or received by Ferry in his capacity as General Manager. The investigation by Alston & Bird made clear that  the offensive language was not Ferry's and none of Ferry’s remarks or behavior during the call were motivated by racial or ethnic animus, or by a person’s country of origin.  To the contrary, Ferry shared his own opinion of Luol, recommended him both personally and professionally and ultimately tried to sign him to the team. The investigation revealed no other negative information on Ferry.

“This season has proved two things,” said Steve Koonin, CEO of the Hawks.  “First, Danny Ferry is a tremendous GM.  Danny was the principal architect of the Hawks’ success in Atlanta.  From the hiring of Coach Bud to reinventing the roster, Danny's vision has put us in the tremendous place we are today.  Danny acted with integrity and professionalism as he guided the organization through important changes over the last few years.  Second, Danny Ferry is not a racist. Danny showed great leadership in stepping aside in the fall so the season could proceed with as few distractions as possible.  He has always put the team first despite the great personal difficulties he endured. Now that the team has identified new ownership, the resolution of Danny’s contract with existing ownership is appropriate. We wish Danny and his family only the best moving forward.”

“While the past year has been incredibly difficult and humbling, it is critical for me to clear my name and for people to realize that I have always built a culture of respect, diversity, and honesty,” said Ferry. “Now that the key facts have been made known, I am making the difficult decision to step away from this team and this special group of players.  I have seen how gracious and forgiving people can be – especially Luol, who had every right to be hurt and angry after being brought into this situation.  I thank him for his forgiveness and support. I also greatly appreciate that our players and coaches have been supportive, along with so many friends, old and new.  As the Hawks move to a new chapter, I will continue to support the players and wish them the continued success that they and the fans of Atlanta deserve.”

On the court, Ferry led the building of a winning lineup.  During his tenure, the team roster was reshaped as he engineered trades of several veterans; re-established valuable flexibility with the salary cap and draft picks; and simultaneously scouted and signed many of the standout players on the team today.  He also hired Mike Budenholzer into his first head coaching position.  The team achieved the best record in the Eastern Conference this year, and Coach Budenholzer was named NBA Coach of the Year.

“Building a successful team takes more than attracting a few stars,” Budenholzer said.  “It is about finding the right combination of talent and teamwork to become an unbeatable combination.  Danny’s vision and decision-making shaped the team that fans celebrate on the court today.”

 

 

http://www.nba.com/hawks/news/atlanta-hawks-and-danny-ferry-part-ways

Edited June 22, 2015 by JayBirdHawk